Day 37: Overcoming challenges — AMAZING audio!
There are many heroes involved in 40 Days for Life — ordinary people with extraordinary faith who are overcoming daunting challenges so they can make a life-saving impact.
Here are just a few examples…
Maria prays at the vigil outside Planned Parenthood in Monterey, California twice a week, even though she is 80 years old and sometimes has difficulty walking.
Maria is from Poland and has seen the difficulties brought by war and years of Communist oppression; yet “she is still on fire for God and life,” said Teresa, who helps coordinate the local 40 Days for Life effort in Monterey.
“Maria challenges each of us to really question how much are we willing to put ourselves on the line,” Teresa said. “How far are we willing to go to defend life? How important is this effort to us?” Maria shows no fear in standing up for the unborn.
At one abortion clinic, the staff members have been sent out to take pictures of any vigil participants who appear to be of Hispanic heritage.
The implied threat is that the clinic will turn the photos over to immigration officials.
Such an effort could potentially create difficulty and generate red tape — even for U.S. citizens and others who are living in this country legally.
“They have just accepted this persecution as an attempt by the evil one to discourage and frighten them, and they keep on praying,” reports a local 40 Days for Life vigil leader. “Hopefully their example will encourage any procrastinators to come out and pray.”
And here is one of the most amazing stories of overcoming challenges…
Anita Usher signed up to lead a 40 Days for Life campaign in the Phoenix Metro Area. Instead of focusing their prayer vigil on just one abortion facility, Anita’s team decided to cover 12 Planned Parenthood offices across the city!
That by itself is an amazing feat, but right in the midst of this enormous 40 Days for Life campaign, Anita and her family LOST THEIR HOUSE due to a devastating financial downturn.
But that didn’t stop Anita.
Throughout it all, she has refused to quit on 40 Days for Life. Her determination has galvanized their local campaign, inspired countless others, and saved many lives.
You will be amazed when you hear Anita’s real-life story of overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Her determination is more motivating than any movie like “Rocky” or “Rudy.”
I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a few minutes on the phone with Anita, and she gave me permission to record the entire discussion and share it with you.
Be sure to have a box of Kleenex nearby and listen to Anita’s powerful 28-minute audio report. You’ll be so glad you did!
Listen online (click “Play” button):
Download MP3 (right-click to save to your computer):
http://www.40daysforlife.com/blog/audio/anita.mp3
Today’s devotional is by Father Frank Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life…
DAY 37 INTENTION:
We are the defenders of true freedom. May our witness unveil the deception of the “pro-choice” slogan.
SCRIPTURE:
Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
– 2 Corinthians 3:17
REFLECTION:
Norma McCorvey (the former Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade) used to work at an abortion mill named “A Choice for Women.” She now realizes what a cruel irony that title was.
She saw first hand, just as pregnancy resource center counselors see, that women don’t get abortions because of freedom of choice, but rather because they feel they have no freedom and no choice.
They feel trapped, abandoned, desperate and afraid, and have been led to believe that abortion is their only option.
As Frederica Mathewes-Green has written, no want wants an abortion like she wants a Porsche or an ice cream; rather, she wants it like an animal caught in a trap wants to gnaw off its own leg.
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” That doesn’t mean that the Spirit allows us to do whatever we want or to decide for ourselves what’s right and wrong.
Rather, it means that the Spirit gives us the freedom to do what is right, the power to choose what is good, when we see it before us and yet feel pulled in the opposite direction. Liberty means that we no longer have to feel doomed to do what we know is wrong.
We are the people of the Spirit of the Lord, and when we take action on behalf of life, especially by being present at abortion mills, we are acting on behalf of true freedom, and imparting to those who are in bondage the power to do what is right.
PRAYER:
Come, Holy Spirit. You are the Spirit of freedom, the source of all that is good, the power to do what is right.
Fill us, and fill those who are in bondage today, feeling doomed to do what is wrong.
Set them free, and help us to hasten them on the road to freedom, where your grace overcomes every temptation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Let’s strive to live up to the amazing example that Anita has set for us by overcoming whatever obstacles stand in the way of doing God’s will!
Yours for Life,
David Bereit
National Campaign Director
40 Days for Life
March 13th, 2008 at 7:24 am
God is with you and your family Anita. He will lead your family and take care of your family. I too, as a mother, with all my love and trust, have placed all my children in “His Hands” to guide and lead them . We too have endured many difficult trials, but through it all we felt His presence and let Him lead us. What a gift to treasure that no money in all the world can buy. You and your family are in our prayers. A while back, we were devastated when we lost a little girl, Mary, through a miscarriage, but she lives on with us in prayer. We know our dear Blessed Mother, took her in Her loving arms and is taking good care of her. What a consolation! We trust in God!
March 13th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Anita, we are praying for you (and the entire nation). It is so difficult to lose a child. I also lost a child recently and it is so painful and an experience I will never forget (or get over). I could not understand why so many came to me and said it SHOULD not hurt so much because we already had so many children, but the gift of life is not something we want to lose. The feeling of what could I have done differently will always nag at me. I think it has brought me closer to the calling of God to seek out women and help in their healing due to abortion. Although we did not choose to end our child’s life, the feelings of loss cause the same anguish. I pray that you will continue to work hard for the Lord as you so graciously have shown us. God bless you!
March 13th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
God is Good! All the time! He is God on the Mountain and God in the valley of our lives. I could not have imagined the healing that He has brought to my life during this 40 Days for Life.
Thank you David and all the faithful participating in this ministry.
Romans 8:28
ALL things work together for good for those that love the Lord and are called according to His purposes.
March 13th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Oh, Anita! Kisses and kisses! You are blessed and He loves you. I know it’s especially hard for moms doing battle in 40 Days for Life. It’s hard to give all your love and effort to so many people at once! Keep giving your heart to Jesus. May He continue to bless you in Jesus’ name.
March 13th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Anita, I can’t believe that you brought me a balloon and card on my birthday when I was out at the Planned Parenthood praying, when you were going through all of this! Your faith is so inspiring. You are a beautiful person.
March 13th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
[...] « Day 37: Overcoming challenges — AMAZING audio! [...]
March 14th, 2008 at 6:16 am
May God continue to bless you. I am so blessed to hear your stories and be a part in prayer for your great ministry. I pray that God will protect and guide all those caring for me and my children and extended family to keep them in His Will and His care. You have helped build my faith and I have returned to my Church again. I love you in Jesus,
Rita E. Hahn
March 14th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Anita, thank you for sharing such an awesome testimony! I pray His blessings will continue to meet you at every turn as you and your precious family act as His hands and His voice. May the Army of the Lord continue to surround you at all times. May your children be continually blessed throughout your ministry.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Anita,
What a wonderful story! May God bless you and your family for organizing the 40 Days for Life in the Phoenix area. Participating in the 40 Days for Life is very rewarding as one prays for the most vulnerable of all, the innocent, little babies who cannot speak for themselves. I too had a miscarriage in 1980 and the memory of our little baby boy will stay with me forever. I cannot imagine the quilt and sorrow women must feel who made the wrong choice of aborting their babies. We must pray for their healing also. We are all praying for you and all the people participating in the 40 Days for Life. We participated in the 40 Days for Life in Green Bay, WI last year and the year before.
Thank you and God bless all the people praying in front of clinics and Planned Parenthood facilities.
March 15th, 2008 at 12:38 am
This 40 days for life ends tomorrow but I find I personally have received a special blessing. I feel I have come close to many friends I will probably never meet, know personally or even recognize if I pass them on a street. I read all your experiences, trials, joys and sorrows and I personally felt united to each of you with them. I walk away from this particular event feeling a jubilation for all our united accomplishments and for the opportunity of getting to know each and every one of you. Be assured each of you will be remembered in my prayers and I thank God for this very spiritual experience. I will be thinking of you as I continue to go and pray the rosary before the abortion clinic. Who knows, maybe some day we will meet and be able to say to each other “It’s done. Abortion is no more. Thanks be to God.” God be with all of you—it’s been great knowing you, even at a distance.
March 15th, 2008 at 3:12 am
Marie’s prescence at PP reminds me of the media coverage in Poland during the solidarity period (60’s or 70s) and overthrow of the Communist government in that country. The indelible impressions of the older women in the churches praying, crossing themselves over and over again, bowing, and saying the rosary. You just knew they were saying their most earnest prayers for their country and that the revolution would be a peaceful one. The similarity to that and the 40 days could not be more striking. It is only God who will obtain the victory through these most earnest prayers.
God bless all or you!