My new Wednesday

Last Spring I was really struggling with what my purpose in life was. One weekend, Shaun was snowboarding with a friend so I spent the day seeking the Lord. I ended up journalling about what passions God has placed within my heart. It was really neat to see all of the things I'm passionate about down on paper and realize that they all kind of blend together to make me who I am. I would recommend that activity for everyone. It helped me see who God had made me to be and it also brought back a passion of mine that had been laying dormant for several years, that of helping women who find themselves in a crisis pregnancy.

In college I felt drawn to a ministry called Hannah's Hope which is a home for women who have no safe place to live during their pregnancy. I even had the opportunity to volunteer there on several different occasions and I just loved what the ministry was able to do to help those women in their greatest time of need. Many women need just one person who supports them in order for them to choose life for their child. It is the feeling of hopelessness, fear and lack of a good support system that often leads a woman to choose abortion so ministries like Hannah's Hope are greatly needed!

So, last Spring when that passion was brought to the forfront of my heart and mind again, I knew that the Lord was calling me back to that. I filled out a volunteer application for the Sanctity of Life ministry in Colorado Springs called Life Network. Life Network has 4 primary outreaches; Crisis Pregnancy Centers, Post-Abortion counseling, Abstinence Education, and Parenting classes for teen and first time moms. This ministry is really on the front lines of the war against the sanctity of life. I was most interested in helping at the Crisis Pregnancy Center as a receptionist, but was required to go to the volunteer training before I could do that. Since we spent the summer at Eagle Lake it wasn't until last month that I did the training and now I have the privilege of volunteering for 4 hours each Wednesday at the Pregnancy Center.

It is neat to see first hand the kind of impact that the Center has. I've only been there for two weeks so far and have been able to help women and men get emergency food, diapers, and clothing for their babies when they can't afford to buy things from the store. Women have gotten ultrasounds of their tiny little babies that in turn helps them to see that they are really carrying a baby not just a lump of tissue. Women will come in for free pregnancy tests which is really cool because when they come in for a test, they receive counseling from volunteer lay counselors who can help them talk through the decision about whether or not to keep the baby. The lay counselors are trained to provide loving, non-judgemental support to the families that come through the doors and they can help the girls to see beyond the crisis to what reality truly is.

I have learned so much about what my attitude should be toward women facing this crisis and people who have experienced abortions in their past. As much as it seems like an easy decision to me, I've never been face to face with the dilemma and I've realized even more that as Christians we need to approach the topic of the sanctity of life with love, not condemnation. We need to pray for the war that is going on in this country. Millions of lives are lost each year and that grieves the heart of God and it should grieve our hearts too.