October 5, 2010
One Year Ago Today
First of all ... yes, the Monday message was quite
a bit late in arriving. Sorry about that! The
e-mail service we use was experiencing challenges.
But hopefully, we're back on schedule now.
Today is October 5. It may be just another day to
you, but not for me -- and most certainly not for
Abby Johnson.
It was one year ago today that I walked into my old
office at the Coalition for Life in Bryan/College
Station, Texas and discovered that Abby Johnson was
there.
We had been on opposite sides of the fence for years
and at that moment we found ourselves together --
her crying and me trying to grasp what the Holy
Spirit was unraveling before my eyes.
To see Abby Johnson, the regional Planned Parenthood
affiliate's employee of the year, in my office --
in tears -- was ... a miracle!
Abby had seen an abortion on an ultrasound -- for the
first time -- and was overcome by the reality of what
actually happens during an abortion. She knew she was
watching a helpless human being die. And she also
knew immediately she could NEVER do it again.
A few days later, Abby and I posed for a picture at
the birthplace of 40 Days for Life -- her former
abortion center!
We had been on opposite sides of this fence for
8 years as volunteers and then employees. She
admitted it felt better to be on our side of the
fence!
To see that picture, go to:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1202
Fast forward just a few months to Abby standing in
front of the abortion facility she had run for years
kicking off the spring 40 Days for Life in Bryan/
College Station, Texas.
To see a video of her comments, please go to:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1202
This is truly a testimony of what God can -- and
WILL -- do in answer to prayer.
We know of 37 abortion center employees -- including
Abby -- who have left their jobs during 40 Days for
Life campaigns.
I didn't know this would happen to me last year
and you don't know what can happen to YOU during
your campaign!
This fall remember to pray for the staff along
with the moms and the babies. Many of them are
looking for a way out -- pray they will have the
courage to take that step.
Right now there is one employee in particular who
really needs prayer because this person saw another
employee quit the center and want to do likewise.
I continue to be amazed this fall of the employees
who are coming to 40 Days for Life and wanting out
of the abortion industry but after all...
...as I learned last fall firsthand, the God who
convinced Abby Johnson to quit Planned Parenthood
can do ANYTHING!
Here's today's devotional from Fr. Frank Pavone, the
national director of Priests for Life...
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DAY 14 INTENTION
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Abortion is the great "no." May all of God's people
have the freedom and grace to say "yes" to His
marvelous plans.
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SCRIPTURE
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For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my
mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully
and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and
that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden
from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully
wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes
saw my substance, being yet unformed and in Your book
they all were written, The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
-- Psalm 139:13-16
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REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
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Unlike the rest of creation, we are capable of a
personal relationship with God. Not only did God
create us, but created us according to a plan devised
from all eternity. No matter how far back we go in
our imagination, there was never a time when God did
not know each of us, in every detail of our being.
There was not a particular time when God decided to
make us. The decision to make us has been in the mind
of God from all eternity. All our days were written
in His book.
To dare to say that a human being, developing in the
womb, should not be born is as wrong as to say that a
born person should not continue to grow and live. In
each case, an attack on human life is an attack on
the God who formed and made us. Jesus Christ is the
great "yes" to the promises of God; abortion is the
great "no."
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PRAYER
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Lord, I pray today for every unborn child. The beauty
of the bodies and souls of these children flows from
your hands and your eternal plan.
Awaken in every human conscience a profound reverence
for human life, and grant us grace to defend our
smallest and most defenseless brothers and sisters,
those still being formed in the secret places of
their mothers' womb. We ask this through Christ our
Lord, 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/fall2010day14print.pdf
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For Life,
Shawn Carney
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life
PS: Have you been blessed through 40 Days for Life
during this campaign? Please share your story by
leaving a comment on today's blog posting at:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1202