It takes everything I have to stand on the street holding a sign for all the passing motorists to read. Signs vary from the harsh realities of abortion to the healing power of Jesus.
One hour and all the strength I can muster.
Always in the beginning of the hour I feel foolish, out of place. Even though there are hundreds of believers standing on our busy street, I feel like the only one. Then something miraculous happens. I begin to pray. I begin to hum. I begin to realize that I am part of something much greater than me. I begin to understand the power of this moment.
Every year I am reminded of how far my life has come. I praise God that abortion is not part of my story. He wrote a different past for me. One of loss and grief. But thankfully and by His grace alone this is not a pain that I have known. Yet my heart breaks for those who have.
As I watched cars zoom by I saw pain and heartbreak. I saw a world in need of a Savior. I saw young women cry. I saw people laughing at us. I saw thumbs up and waves. But mostly, I saw the boldness of our message getting reaction. I pray that someone, somewhere had a moment of repentance. My hope standing out on the curb was that someone found forgiveness and a fresh start.
We had ten people from our church who graciously sacrificed their precious Sunday to stand up and make a difference. My sixteen year old niece was among us. This girl is not like the majority. She has pledged her life to Jesus and made choices to stay pure. She is set apart yet she is still very cool. She has seen beloved friends fall to drugs, alcohol and s*x. She has seen the heartbreak and heard the cries. Still she remains pure. I have never been more proud of her than I was yesterday. Standing up for the Life Chain takes a tremendous amount of courage. I am 34 and it takes all I have. I can't imagine what it must be like for a 16 year old. There she stood holding a sign that boldly proclaimed Jesus's love for us.
The part I love is that she believes it. She lives it.
Another member from our church is a young grandma. Her daughter recently had a baby that could have easily been aborted. This grandma brought her grandson and stood in the heat to show the world that this could have been her daughter's story. Seeing her stand next to her sleeping grandson brought tears to my eyes.
It was a precious hour of prayer.
Whatever choices you have made in the past, whatever your story is please know that Jesus heals and forgives. Today is a new day. Today is a fresh start. Have courage to admit that you need Jesus. I can almost guarantee that someone in your life has prayed for you.
Take hold of the one who heals. He has been waiting to lavish you with His love.
13 comments:
This is a powerful post, and I found myself wiping tears half way through it. Thank you for saying that Jesus heals and forgives. I knew a young lady back in Indiana who had an abortion before coming into church. She heard preacher after preacher condemn her (indirectly) without mentioning that He is merciful. Thank you for posting this. We do serve a merciful and loving God.
Good for you, Janelle. I am proud of you for standing up and speaking out.
very impressive janelle. stuff like that is so hard for me. good for you girl! great post!
I'm so glad that you shared these words today, Janelle. YES, Jesus forgives. YES, He is gracious. YES, His forgiveness is powerful enough to change lives.
I'm so thankful that there are people standing out there with signs that are shouting these things...instead of the condemnation that is so often preached from pulpits...and so often spoken from hearts that have forgotten why Jesus came. Loved this post!
I love this post!
I have participated in this 3 years ago and had Ashlyn in her stroller right next to me with a sign! It is a powerful experience.
Yesterday we were in town going down the strip and Ashlyn asked me what all the signs said and what were all these people doing. I found myself choking up as I told her that these people were letting the world know that it's not okay to kill babies and that Jesus loves them. Just being in the care surrounded by Christians praying for our nation was an amazing thing.
I'm so glad you did it! Your niece sounds like an amazing young woman! Good for her!
A dying world in need of a Savior... bless you for seeing them with Jesus' eyes, Janelle... for having your heart broken with the things that break the heart of God... and for standing up for Christ when it would have been so easy to just say, "I'll be praying for the lifechain." God loves you, and so do I. :)
The message of grace so often gets left out of the fight against abortion. I appreciate that about the life chain.
Thanks for sharing your heart about this and thanks for taking a stand!
Amen sister! A powerful post. I haven't done what you did...standing out there, but our town did it. I would have been afraid like you described at first, but you did it! I am really touched.
That's what true witnessing is all about. Knowing the cost, having the heart, and doing what is right. Janelle, you are one of the truest people I have ever known, and I love you for that.
That was beautiful. I pray that given the opportunity, I would be filled with the courage to take that stand too. He is the one who heals and loves.
Blessings~
What a wonderful thing, Janelle. I especially love the last two paragraphs of what you wrote. I can just say Amen.
I love this one, too, and agree with what everyone else said. It was a particularly moving post--I was definitely in tears by the end. I don't think that people really realize how difficult this topic can be for women. Adding condemnation just makes it worse and it really drives scared young women away from God's grace, redemption and love.
It hits very close to home for me because I seriously considered having an abortion when I was pregnant with my first child. He was unexpected at the end of a bad marriage and I was scared. The world pushes this idea that abortions are no big deal, that they are a viable "solution."
As I was reading this post, my little boy (who is not so little anymore) came and asked me to read him a book. I snuggled on the couch and read him a book about colors.
It is amazing to me to think sometimes about what my life would have been like if I had gone through with an abortion. It would have crushed and paralyzed my spirit. My little boy, one of the truest joys and surprises in my life would not be here. I can't imagine that!
I'm glad you were speaking out against abortion; more importantly, you were REACHING out with love, compassion and understanding while you pointed people to God. Very beautiful.
Janelle,
But mostly, I saw the boldness of our message getting reaction.
What a powerful statement! How awesome that you were daring enough to stand out for God. Our country slides into the abyss because there are too many who do not speak up, do not stand out. I'm so proud of you!
Kate
Post a Comment