Day 3: We're Right

If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.
-Buddhist Proverb



Outside the courthouse in Dallas
where Roe v. Wade was first filed.

 Of all the uncertainties that one may encounter in this war- are my prayers being heard? are my efforts making a difference? is all my hard work in vain? - the one constant we can always cling to is knowing that we have been chosen to defend the truth about Life. We are blessed in our knowledge by knowing that we, regardless of each battle that may feel lost, will win the war in the end- for Truth will always emerge, although some may try to cast a shadow over it in the forms of ignorance, bitterness, and denial. If Pro-Aborts are really Pro-"Choice," why not choose the Truth? Life begins at conception, folks. If that is the only ground that we can all agree on - it is, in fact, a solid, biological truth - then I don't understand how there can even be further discussion on the matter. Just a little thought today.

Wish I could spend more time thinking on this, but as I discussed yesterday, so much homework that must be done that really makes no positive difference in my life, no intellectual growth so far this semester. I just wish my classes were teaching things that would actually encourage new thinking... not just reading boring, unproductive books or learning about old political figures whose names all seem so interchangeable.



Day 2: A Poem

Today I was wandering around a website of poems by my very favorite poet, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, and I found this one and felt that it could very easily be applied to the Pro-Life movement and some of the frustrations I discussed yesterday:

Preaching vs. Practice

It is easy to sit in the sunshine
And talk to the man in the shade;
It is easy to float in a well-trimmed boat,
And point out the places to wade.

But once we pass into the shadows,
We murmur and fret and frown,
And, our length from the bank, we shout for a plank,
Or throw up our hands and go down.

It is easy to sit in your carriage,
And counsel the man on foot,
But get down and walk, and you'll change your talk,
As you feel the peg in your boot.

It is easy to tell the toiler
How best he can carry his pack,
But no one can rate a burden's weight
Until it has been on his back.

The up-curled mouth of pleasure,
Can prate of sorrow's worth,
But give it a sip, and a wryer lip,
Was never made on earth.

This week, I am definitely "feeling the peg in my boot." It is hard for me to know of the injustices the Unborn are facing and not be able to commit myself wholeheartedly to it. I feel so helpless sometimes. I'm finding myself bitter against my homework & my classes because I feel like I could be doing so much more to actually make a change rather than learn about little historical facts or other things that seem to vanish once the unit test is over. It's been one of those weeks where I just need to listen to "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" by Josh Groban on repeat. Praying for all those who began 40 Days for Life this morning.

Day 1: Apathy

I'm finding myself disheartened in a new way recently. In the past, it has been the ignorance of the truth that brought me down in the battle for Life- those misinformed folks who cannot see the life in the eyes of the unborn child, who are deaf to the beats of the little hearts in ultrasound exams- but now my strength is being tested by an unexpected evil: apathy.

I consider it a blessing, although at times it feels almost like a curse, to have become aware of the tragedies and the injustices facing the unborn when I did; the sooner one becomes aware of a problem, the more time one has to correct it. However, I've found that the "informed" members of my generation of young adults - who are so quick to become impassioned about environmental matters, or the "green" movement - prefer laziness and ease to awareness and attaining justice.

Studies claim that college campuses are becoming increasingly Pro-Life, which is wonderful, but this change in Life ideologies is occuring through a checkmark in a box on a survey when it should be occuring through a stirring in the depths of one's heart. If our hearts are not ignited for Life, if we do not burn with desire to end the killing and end the injustices towards the unborn, the mothers, the fathers- then what are we doing with our beliefs and our awareness? We are simply taking the responsibility that comes with this knowledge and ignoring it. While abortionists are taking these tiny children, these little glimpses of God, and, as if they were candles, blowing them out before they can even show their light to the world- we are taking the embers of a revolution and extinguishing them before they can grow to a flame which can, aided by a gust of truth & increased awareness, grow and grow until it has completely consumed and destroyed this death-accepting society we are living in. It just takes one bit of the truth, one bit of responsibility, one moment to accept the responsibility of what we have been revealed, one moment for us to each accept God's calling through each revelation. When we actively pursue the truth about abortion we are accepting the challenge to do whatever we can to put an end to the killings.

As of lately, apathy is the greatest evil I am facing in my daily battle for Life. It is everywhere- it is in our Pro-Life clubs, it is in our movement, as well as outside of the movement - as one could expect. We must not allow ourselves to fall into the apathetic trap that our busy schedules, homework, or other distractions present for us. We must make Life not just a priority, but the priority. I can think of about 50 million people who would tell you that this fight is worth it- but unfortunately, they were not granted their right to be born, they were never allowed to speak up and ask for someone to fight for them.

40 Days for Life

40 Days for Life is a wonderful campaign to bring about change in the Culture of Death we are living in by participating in constant vigils outside abortion mills, fasting, personal prayer, community outreach, etc. This past Saturday I attended the 40 Days for Life Volunteer Training hosted by the Austin Coalition for Life and I was amazed by the turnout of volunteers and the number of hours of prayer each week that individual were dedicating the next 40 days of their lives to. It was truly impressive. As a college student without a car who is living 24 minutes (in good traffic) from the nearest abortion mill, it was impossible for me to sign up for an hour at any of the 3 Austin 40 Days for Life locations (by the way, how amazing that we have enough volunteers in the Austin area to maintain constant vigil at 3 separate locations.), I have been brainstorming ways that I can dedicate my time and efforts and prayers to the Pro-Life cause during this season and my decision was creating this blog. My hope for the next 40 Days is to become a more educated individual regarding Pro-Life issues, to pray outside mills as much as I can, to help educate others on the issues, and to encourage those who already identify themselves as Pro-Life to take action.