the mother and her unborn child -- and saving the life
of the baby scheduled to be aborted. But each of those children also has a father -- someone
who is legally in no man's land. He has no rights --
and often no influence. Steve, the 40 Days for Life coordinator in Glendale,
California, tells the story of one such man -- a guy
he refers to as "Bill."
------------------------------------------------------
GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA
------------------------------------------------------ "Our 'Women DO Regret Abortion' and 'Men Regret Lost
Fatherhood' signs were out as we prayed for all those
affected by abortion," Steve said, as Bill -- a man
in his early 40s -- walked by, pushing a young girl
in a stroller. "What you do here -- does it work?" he asked. "Yes,"
Steve responded. "We pray for the women, the babies
and the abortion workers and sometimes they change
their minds." "My wife, she had an abortion here last Friday,"
Bill said. Steve was a bit stunned. "I am so sorry for your
loss," he said. "Are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm okay," Bill said. "I just don't understand.
Why did she do it?" His wife was having problems with morning sickness, but
Bill kept telling her in a couple more weeks it would
be okay. "Now, my wife is sad and says that she regrets
that she did it." Steve and another man encouraged Bill to seek post-
abortive counseling for him, his wife and perhaps
marriage counseling together. "We provided him contact information to several local
organizations that would help him start the healing
process and to deal with all the emotions he now had
and that he would have as the shock wore off and the
realization set in that he and his entire family would
have to deal with something that has forever changed
his family." "Could God forgive us of this?" Bill asked tentatively. "Yes, he can!" Steve answered. "There is no sin God
cannot forgive." In reflecting on this conversation, Steve said, "I am
routinely amazed by how God uses the 40 Days for Life
ministry as a means for healing to all those affected
by the horror of abortion." Still, he said, "I can only imagine that path that
Bill will travel now; asking for an answer to 'Why did
she do it?' when there is no answer. How does he deal
with his wife's actions, coupled with her regret, while
processing his own grief and loss? "How does he deal with the fact that his wife's family
was counseling her to get the abortion against her
husband's wishes? How does he someday tell his beautiful
daughter that she was going to have a little brother or
sister, but her mommy decided to get an abortion and by
law, he couldn't stop her?" Steve knows there are no human answers. "I do know
where Bill can find the answers," he said, "and they
are in Christ Jesus, the great redeemer and healer of
our souls. He is the only one that can help Bill
forgive himself, his wife, his family and cause
healing to occur." Steve said he is "left with the resolve that there
is so much more work to be done to end the horror of
abortion. To you, my brothers and sisters in Christ,
I call on you to join me as an active participant on
the front lines ... we need you!" There is still time for action. Find a 40 Days for
Life location near you at: http://40daysforlife.com/location ... and get involved!
Today's devotional is from Rev. John Ensor of
Heartbeat International.
------------------------------------------------------
DAY 33 INTENTION
------------------------------------------------------ As we pray for the end of abortion, let us pray for
the expansion of the pregnancy help center movement
worldwide.
------------------------------------------------------
SCRIPTURE
------------------------------------------------------ The dragon stood before the woman who was about to
give birth, so that when she bore her child he might
devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is
to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her
child was caught up to God and to his throne. -- Revelation 12:4-5
------------------------------------------------------
REFLECTION by Rev. John Ensor, Heartbeat International
------------------------------------------------------ You don't need to be a theological scholar to get the
essential point of Revelation 12. Something BIG is
afoot. It has something to do with the birth of Christ
and the children of God. It involves a war in heaven, with powers and
principalities beyond our expertise. But the battles
are fought here on earth. The crux of the matter centers around the babe of
Bethlehem and the cross of Calvary. It continues to unfold down through the ages, through
us, the children of God, who put their faith in Christ
and take up their cross and follow him. We are waging a war of love against all things that
destroy body and soul. The intensity waxes and wanes, but like labor pains,
they grow and culminate in new life. The unleashing of legal abortion nearly 40 years ago
stirred up prayer (lamentation really). Many were then
led to start pregnancy help centers and maternity homes. Today there are over 3,000 such ministries that did not
exist 40 years ago. They reflect a movement of God on our watch: Christians
driven to give their time and charity to end abortion
one woman at a time. Let's pray this movement expands worldwide. Let's pray
for thousands more Christians to start, serve and
support pregnancy help centers.
------------------------------------------------------
PRAYER
------------------------------------------------------ O God, from generation to generation, you have called
your people to be the very aroma of life amidst a
culture of death. Now it is our turn. Prepare me.
Send me. Use me. I am eager to do my part. Stir your
people everywhere to take up this great work.
------------------------------------------------------
PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
------------------------------------------------------ To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/spring2012day33print.pdf
------------------------------------------------------ Yours for Life, Shawn Carney
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life PS: Are you a first-time participant in 40 Days for
Life? If so, thanks for joining the campaign! Please
share your impressions by replying to today's blog
entry at: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=3061
40 Days for Life 10908 Courthouse Road
Suite 102229
Fredericksburg, VA
22408
US
