It's Worth the Half Hour

Several people on Facebook had posted this, so yesterday I finally watched it.

I am glad that I did.

The first few minutes into it, I was beyond shocked and appalled that these youthful people did not even know who HITLER was. That was disturbing in & of itself.

The way this was lead, though, made it worthwhile. The change...the angle.
The TRUTH.

It made me grateful for the education I've received, the people in my life that value LIFE, and especially grateful for the opportunity I had to tour Auschwitz and Birkenau.

I will confess this: I've always been pro-life, yes. But it wasn't until I visited Auschwitz that it started to "personalize" for me. The fire's flame was lit then, so to speak.

Please watch this. It's truly eye-opening and amazing.

Stand Up for What is Right, Even If You Stand Alone

My 9th grade English teacher had this poster in her classroom. It sticks with me to this day.

The other night I was at an event our parish was hosting: An Evening of Reflection and Prayer for 40 Days for Life.
It was over an hour of prayer, including Benediction, Adoration, hymns sung in Latin...it was simply beautiful.

In my head I kept hearing "Stand up for what is right, even if you stand alone".

Looking around the room, you'd praise God for not being alone. There were maybe 20 of us there.
We were together, not having to stand alone, united in prayer, preparing our hearts to take action.

What we came to stand for? LIFE.

Call it what you want: a zygote, embryo, fetus, BABY  (HUMAN), they are alone.
They have no person to fight for them, especially in the sad circumstances of their own parents hoping to end their very life.
Abortion.

When you can't even count on the womb--the very first home--to be a safe haven, when you can't even count on that, it's beyond sad, and it's our moral responsibility to take a stand.
We stand together to fight for their LIVES. The basic right to live & breathe.
Those babies-HUMANS-with beating hearts, they are not able to even stand up alone to fight for their own lives. Their very life, before even having the chance to live it, is threatened.

I don't live in a perfect world without trials & tribulations, I don't come from money and I certainly acknowledge that there are bad people in this world. Things happen that emotionally scar people, such as rape.
Research it, though, and you'll learn that the majority of abortion cases are not a result of rape, despite what Planned Parenthood would like us to believe.
Even in the event of rape, the wrong person would be receiving punishment (the baby), and that is not just. Two wrongs do not make a right.

I could go on that rant forever, citing actual facts about abortion, post pictures to imprint in your brain the horror that it is.

Instead, I'll plead that in some form, you take action.
Yes, YOU.
Start with prayer.
Pray for the moms considering abortion. Those moms feel hopeless, scared, unsure. They rely on abortion as a last result.
Pray for them and their babies. Pray for the father of those babies, so that they may be men that do not threaten the lives of the mothers and/or babies, inflict violence, threaten to leave them if...

Pray for the resources needed to choose LIFE to become apparent in the lives of these women.
Adoption options, pregnancy centers that offer classes, free baby items, etc.
Pray these things will make themselves known to these women.

If prayer is the only thing you can do, so be it. After all, it's communication with God-it's a great thing.

Let's say you can do more (and I suspect most of you can).

Check out the 40 Days for Life site and see if you can sign up to participate.

Gather items to donate to a pregnancy center.
Make a straight financial donation.

Educate yourself in the matters necessary that deal with our political front, such as the Heartbeat Bill.
When the time comes, VOTE responsibly.

There is so much a person can do. You don't need a lot of time or money (I have neither), but a desire in your heart.

Stand up for what is right.
I would stand alone, but thank God I don't have to.
Together let's stand up for those who are alone.
For the babies. For the pregnant mothers. So many of them feel alone or are alone.

Join me in taking a stand.

When You Can Feel God Working

I don't very often feel I sense when God is talking to me, or shouting at me "do this!".

I have friends who are like "God told me to do this...".
I usually stare blankly because I don't experience that very often.

I'm more the type that if God is trying to tell me something, He needs it on a huge billboard, then played through the song I hear on the radio, then to send HIMSELF to me in a dream or something.

But...Every once in a great while, I do feel God sending me a message. I do feel Him working on me, even through me. Those rare moments are such a blessing. They catch me off guard, and almost overwhelm me to a point.

Well the lightbulb went off, and I've had a moment where I've felt God working through me. Looking at it, it's amazing the way He connected pieces of my life together.

Remember how I participated in the 40 Days for Life campaign? I've gone twice to downtown Toledo and prayed outside the abortion clinic there. The first time it was a very moving experience for me. The last time, it wasn't as moving. However, the last time, as I was noticing a street guy (assumed homeless) walking by, I noticed he was talking to himself, not making sense, as if he was in an argument with someone we couldn't see. He was not presentable looking. He was not clean. He reminded me of my brother Kevin.

Once we were driving away, I realized he must have come from the shelter around the corner. The Cherry Street Mission offers shelter and food and warm meals to the needy.
My brother, Kevin, has often relied on such shelters.
 He is schizophrenic.
Since he was 18 or 19, he has spent so much of his life roaming about, going from one shelter to the next. He is alive truly because so many good people on earth have helped him.

That man I saw walking when I was praying at the abortion clinic, he really reminded me of my brother when he is unstable and off his medication.

Fast forward a few days.

Thursday at school, Aidan and the rest of the school made hundreds of pb&j sandwiches for the hungry.

The whole school worked together on this service project, and Aidan really enjoyed it. I am proud he understood what he did. I am proud he is in a school that does such things.

Guess who they were giving these sandwiches to?
Cherry Street Mission, the same shelter mentioned above.

When I realized this, I had another lightbulb moment. I realized there was a very real chance my brother may have relied on this shelter. He lived in Michigan for many years, and during that time left home and went God knows where. Toledo is a place he would have passed through.
I realize this is a small chance, but it gave me some perspective.

I found the shelter's website and looked at their list of Urgent Needs.
How could I not?

I kept it in mind when I was grocery shopping the other day, and I picked up a few things from their list.
I am excited to show the 2 bags to Aidan, and for us to all drive there and drop them off. I think it's so important for young kids to see this as they grow up.
The world is so much bigger than we are, and we need to do our part to help.

I not only feel like we're helping the needy that come to this shelter, but in some small way, I feel like we're helping my brother. Or at least returning some of the kindness he has received so much of.

God connected pieces together: my prayer time at the clinic-->the homeless guy walking by--> the shelter-->Aidan's school donating sandwiches to this shelter-->it making me think of Kevin-->finding the shelter's list of needs-->God connected these things in my life, and I feel like He wants me to help out, even if it is in a small way.

I don't feel it often, but when I can feel God working, it's quite the feeling. Humbling.

Have you ever had an experience where you've felt God working through you?

For you, Dorothy Grace

Because you didn't have a chance at living.

You, like others, were not given the chance to grow up, to take your first steps, say your first words, or play with your big brother. We didn't get to hold you, hug you, love you on earth.

The difference?

Your chance was not taken away deliberately. 

You were wanted. You were deliberate. You were on purpose.

For all of those reasons, we still love you. And even after 3.5 years, we still miss you.

The others? 

Many, many babies are denied the chance of life on purpose. 

Their mothers or fathers convince themselves they aren't a real person, and proceed to hurt their bodies and kill their baby. 

Those others are suffering an abortion. 

Abortion is murder.

God chose to take you from us. I still don't understand why, but I have peace in knowing we did all we could to provide you a loving, healthy home, albeit only 16 weeks in-utero.

Others, perhaps babies you greet in heaven, were deliberately denied this. Maybe God had planned for them to live, blessing lives around them. But someone selfishly, frighteningly interrupted God's plan.

What was it Mother Teresa said? "Don't put a period where God intended a comma". Amen to that.

I did one hour at the abortion clinic a few weeks back. It's a prayer vigil called the 40 Days for Life.

Something changed within me. Ever since then, I feel spiritually renewed. Recharged. It is easier to pray.

From that change I felt the urge to do more, so I signed myself up for another hour tomorrow, and I hope to do even more.

I am doing this in honor of you, Dorothy Grace. You are with me in my heart.

Your life ended by God's will. Today we especially pray for those babies whose lives are ended in ungodly ways.

Remembering you, Little Dottie. 

You are my inspiration.