Life Chain

Just got back from our 2012 Life Chain...we had about 100 people praying for the end of abortion in our nation.  Praise God!  We had people on each side of the main street going through town...from the stop sign to the stop light...about a quarter of a mile span.  A lot of people chose to huddle closer together this year because it was below 60 degrees and windy, but they stayed the entire time so it was a great turn out and witness of united prayer!

I told a friend last night to pray for all to go well...I had no idea if we would have anyone there! I worry every year that I am going to be the only one praying on the side of the road.  I guess I need to put my trust fully in God and know that all will work out.

One of our prayer warriors who is wheelchair bound offered to hold Zaira in her lap, as she was bundled up in a warm blanket and sleeping.  This was very helpful as I passed out signs to the participants.  This also allowed me the opportunity to greet new participants.

One of the new families I met already knew me by name.  They had just moved here from West Texas and had asked if there was a Pro-life group.  They were given my name but no contact information.  I am so glad we were able to connect.

I was also given the disappointing news that one of our faithful pastors would soon be retiring.  He did send out the message for his congregation to support Life Chain, but his leadership will be sadly missed in the Pro-life community as well as the community in general.  I am sure he will find a new way to lead away from this pastoral role.  I pray for God's guidance in this new phase of his life.

In all, we had the presence of at least three Catholic parishes and four Protestant congregations.  I was also pleased to see so many youth and families praying today.  I cannot help but think about the importance of this next generation as we continue to pray for the end of abortion.  I pray that this generation will be the ones who will see an end to this tragedy that our society faces.

And with the battle, we cannot forget that our enemy is not each other but Satan as he weaves his evil into our lives.  That might seem like strong words, but over the years I have found that with success there comes distress.  I try to prepare myself for what will come when we give ourselves to the cause and open ourselves to the world.  Today was one of those days when I could feel the joy of the moment as God's people were united in prayer in such strong numbers.  I felt a peace knowing that God heard our prayers and we will one day see the end to this struggle.  However, I also prayed that the burden of Satan's retaliation should be placed on my shoulders and not those who joined with me today (not just locally but across the nation).

So, when you ask for something in prayer, be sure to have yourself ready for that prayer to be answered.  I gathered up signs as the prayer vigil ended and actually got the boys in the car quickly.  However, when I tried to start the car...click click click!...the battery was dead!  I had left the back door of the car open for the last two hours to have easy access to the signs and it must have drained my battery.  I have had this happen in the past from time to time so it was not a big surprise.  One of the men (Thank you, Ed!) looked at my battery and said it was not a good battery and it had sprayed chemicals all over my engine...upon inspection it really was a mess which had not happened in the past.  We were able to jump start my car (Thank you, Deacon Billy!) but I was going to need a new battery.

Then we got home and planned a warm dinner to beat the chill we had out at the vigil.  Edward went out to the garage where our big freezer is kept and found the door wide open!  The funny thing about it was that I know the freezer was closed tight yesterday so it should not have been a problem.  I am not sure what happened but we were able to save half the food because it was packed tight after our monthly shopping last week.  Of course, that means we lost half our food supply for this month.  And, we also had to cook two of my back up casseroles for dinner tonight or these meals would have been lost.  I guess we know what we are eating for the next few days!

These little troubles are frustrating but I was determined to let it go and offer it up for God's glory.  These sufferings were not going to ruin our success of the day.  I would not get upset and chose to praise God the more!

Then I got the phone call from a friend.  A dear Pro-life friend (Margie), who has given many years to the Project Gabriel ministry, was at a Life Chain event in another town north of us.  She was struck by a vehicle that jumped the curve where she was praying.  She had been taken to the hospital in critical condition.  The driver had tried to flee the scene but was in police custody.  I would later learn that Margie was in stable condition.  Also, it was not clear but the driver might have fallen asleep at the wheel.

I just could not believe what I was hearing.  As a coordinator of this event, I try to keep everyone safe but this was unbelievable.  How do you stop a vehicle?  In fact, this accident happened within 15 feet of the coordinator.  He could never have predicted or been able to stop this from happening!

I sent a message out to friends to pray for Margie and the driver.  I know that Margie is a strong woman and will fight to recover.  I pray for the driver...that this was not intentional and that there will be forgiveness...as well as mercy in case this was intentional.  I cannot get this out of my mind as I pray continuously in the back of my mind.

I know that the efforts of those praying will far out weigh the hardships...I know that God has the victory over evil.  I can only pray that we will stay strong in these hardships.  May God bless us in our faithfulness.