The words a sidewalk counselor spoke to a woman entering the abortion center in Dallas, Texas summed things up so accurately. “I know the baby is not the problem,” the counselor said, “but it’s the situation you are in.”

The woman took information from the counselor but continued into the clinic — while 40 Days for Life vigil participants prayed for her and her child.

An hour later, the woman came out of the clinic in tears. She was married, she said, but thinking about abortion — though she doesn’t know why it got to that point. But when she saw people praying, she knew abortion was not the answer, and that indeed, it was her situation that was the problem, not the baby.

There are two other stories from Dallas with a similar theme — and the same outcome.

A woman entered the clinic — and left 30 minutes later, telling people on the sidewalk she was scared, and that the conditions in the clinic were troublesome. She was invited to go instead to the very clean clinic across the street — the pro-life pregnancy resource center. She found that help was indeed available, and chose life for her child.

A short time later, a couple walked into the clinic but left about 40 minutes later. The woman held her head down and appeared quite troubled. She, too, told the people at the vigil she was scared. But as she kept watching the people praying on the sidewalk, she found the courage to reject abortion as a “solution” to her problems.

Here are some of the 40 Days for Life vigil participants in Dallas:

Choosing life — a blessing that God has provided …

… 411 times during this fall’s 40 Days for Life campaign thus far!

Here’s the story behind another of those blessings:

A mom in Atlanta, Georgia went to pray at the 40 Days for Life vigil with her 7- and 10-year-old daughters. At the time, they were the only ones at the clinic. But after Paige explained to her girls why they were there, they all began to pray and sing.

When a woman got out of her car and walked towards the clinic, on of the girls said, “Let’s sing ‘Jesus Loves Me.’”

“They sounded so sweet,” Paige said. “I know the lady could hear them.”

A bit later, a man pulled up and got out of his car to talk. “He was very noticeably angry,” said Paige, and he wound up making a threatening remark before driving off.

“I told the girls what Jesus said, ‘Blessed are you when they persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you, because of me.’ But it was hard staying there.”

It’s a good thing they stayed! The woman that the girls had sung for earlier in the hour walked out of the clinic and towards the parking lot — all the time, looking at a sign with the number of a pro-life pregnancy counseling hotline. She picked up her cell phone and made a call.

As she pulled out of the parking lot, the woman made a point of looking right at them, giving thumbs-up and shaking her head in an emphatic “yes.” She was smiling at them, though it looked like she had been crying.

“The girls were thrilled,” said Paige. “We really have no idea of the good that may come of people standing outside of clinics.”

Here’s today’s devotional from Rev. Paul Stallsworth, President of Lifewatch (United Methodist Church)…

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DAY 34 INTENTION
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May we come to know that divine life, in relationship, creates human life.

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SCRIPTURE
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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

–John 1:1-3

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REFLECTION by Rev. Paul Stallsworth
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“In the beginning” was God. Always, before all times, there was God. This particular God — the God of the Bible, the God of St. John’s Gospel — is different from all other gods. This God is alive and full of life. This God is not the picture of deadness and death, aloneness and isolation. This God is the picture of life, relationship, and unity.

For within this God, within this one God, there are three divine persons who live, who love, and who work — together. This is the glorious mystery of the Trinity. The Trinity means divine life. The Trinity means three, living Persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — who relate to each other. The Trinity means mutual love and service among three Persons.

The Word was always with God the Father. This Word was, is, and will be the Trinity’s second person. The Word is also the Son of God or, as revealed in time, Jesus Christ. God the Father and God the Son live, love, and work for each other. As one, they create “all things” together: the Father creates all things, including all human life, through the Son.

So the Father, through the Son, creates all human lives. The little one swimming in his mother’s womb, the infant smiling in his father’s arms, the child crying in pain in a hospital bed, the energetic teen running another mile, the old man gasping for his last breath — all were created, at their beginning, by the Father through the Son. No exceptions. Divine life creates human life.

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PRAYER
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O God, may we always be quick to call you Father. And when we call you father, let your Spirit remind us that we, and all people, from their beginning to their last day, are your children. We praise you, Father, that you sent your Son to reveal to the world that all people are His brothers and sisters, that all people are your children. Through Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

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PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
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To download today’s devotional as a formatted, printable PDF to share with friends:

http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2009day34print.pdf

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For Life,

David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life

P.S.- Stay tuned for a few more videos over the next few days. The computer I’ve had with me on the road has been crashing while trying to edit videos, but later today I’ll have access to another computer that should be able to handle the job.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 2:32 am and is filed under 09 Fall Campaign, 40 Days for Life, Devotionals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.