I’ve recently come upon a devotion which encourages one to meditate on the Holy SHOULDER Wound of Jesus Christ. It struck me how hidden from us this very, very painful wound has been. If you think about it, though, it HAD to be there!
The multiple lacerations from the cruel scourging would’ve left His flesh open and bleeding. Add to that a heavy weight of coarse, rough-sawn lumber. The constant abrasion had to have left Our Dear Lord with an awful wound high on His shoulder closer to His neck. Most pictures, including those taken of the Holy Shroud, do not draw our attention to it. The length of Christ’s hair covers it from view.
Through simple observation, we easily can see and sympathize with a fellow human being suffering physically. But, so many others suffer in unperceived ways.
A young lady who turns to PP to “solve” her predicament might appear fine as she exits after her abortion, but we know better! And, her tiny baby, now gone, is certainly NOT fine!
All earthly creatures, from the flower to the dog to man, are hardwired to PRESERVE life. All instinctively work to survive, reproduce, and perpetuate their species. We can see this readily in the lower levels of creation. But, given free will, man (at the higher level of creation) can say, “NO!” to God. That NO comes with a consequence.
A person can’t fight against two of those three inclinations and not expect there to be fall-out. In the course of life, it’s not natural to purposely HALT reproduction and the propagation of the species.
May we remain steadfast in our advocacy to preserve life and assist the poor mistaken souls to avoid that hidden pain they will feel perhaps the rest of their lives.
Christ’s pain and suffering led to His Glorious Resurrection. Let us pray our efforts will help to bring about a rebirth and renewal for those enslaved by the lie of abortion. -Tracy
Joe K, Tim & David 7:30-9:00
David and Joe
Bill and Tim
It was a beautiful quiet and peaceful morning. Perfect for prayer. Year around regulars Joe and David set up everything. We were blessed as pp was closed. Another year round regular Bill joined for prayer.
Judy and first timer Renai came for the next shift. GBY -Tim
Judy V. 9:00-11:00
Judy and Renai
Despite PP being again (!) closed Tim, David, Bill and I prayed on. We were joined by first-time prayer warrior and SA, Renai, who handed out the small yellow+black cards to several passers-by. A beautiful fall day brought several congenial people our way! -Judy
Dean 11:00-1:00
Chris and Jim
Thank you to Chris and Jim for praying with me today. I’m happy to report that P.P. was closed for the second Saturday in a row. Hopefully, more Saturdays will be like this. -Dean
Kathy & Chris D. 1:00-3:00
Patty and Vince
Patty and a passerby using phones to translate between Swahili and English!
Happiness is closed planned parenthood on a beautiful day! Vince went straight to prayer. Patty and I witnessed a Dad with 2 young men stop at baby models. They were just talking about what a baby looked like inside the mother. They came back second time and Patty gave them a brochure.
A man who spoke Swahili needed help. Patty tried to translate on 2 phones , and he left happy.
A woman from N.Y. missed the Megabus, so she stopped to share her story: she miscarried 14 week-old twins at home. She held them in her hand. They were perfectly made…fingers, toes. We gave her a “Still Remembered” Project handout. She wants to help other women in N Y.
A man in a mandarin hat approached pp’s door. He spoke English, saying he wanted the birth control removed from his wife’s arm and replaced with other birth control. He accepted a brochure with the East Liberty Family clinic number.
Two people approached pp, aiming “pro-“choice talk at us. Finding it closed, they were offered a handout with free STD info. They refused it.
Not a boring shift! Happy to see Jeff! -Kathy
Jeff & Billy 3:00-5:00
Jeff
Billy
Today I am back with Jeff. And according to Jeff Planned Parenthood is closed today. Two Saturdays in a row is a blessing! There has been a lot of foot traffic that has passed us by. A few comments that were made that were negative but I think we are used to it. More people seemed to stare at us I’ve noticed. A woman came in a wheelchair and talked to me and she apparently had adopted her son 26 years ago and said he has Asperger’s but he’s doing very well in life. A man came up to me and didn’t speak English and he was text translating me from Russian and he asked me what abortion was and why we were down here so I used his translator just to tell him the reason for 40 days for life. He appreciated it. We also had a guy give us a thumbs up and some woman decided to knock over one of our signs. She walked away and I picked it back up.
I think the more I come down here I think our witness is just listening to people’s stories about their children or the children they could have had and we aren’t here to pass judgment. I think that’s the beautiful thing about our campaign. -Billy
Great reflection Tracy!
Larry