Maybe There Is Hope

At the beginning of this year, God convicted me regarding the abortion issue.  I repented of an apathetic attitude and began doing some research into the issue.  I learned that the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision is filled with faulty logic (42 Years Too Late), and I reacted with anger when I found 98% of all abortions performed in America are for the convenience of the woman (Is It Too Late).  Six months later however, I friend who shares my conviction discovered an online tool (Online For Life) that had caused me to think again.  Maybe it is not too late for America.  Maybe there is hope for the future lives of the unborn.

I checked out the Online For Life web page and read the organization’s mission to save, “babies and rescue women, men, and families from the ravages of abortion.”  When I saw the prayer opportunities, I knew this was an answer to my prayer – here is something I can do.  I can pray with Online For Life.  I downloaded their free app (OFL APP) to my phone.  It shows me real-time prayer needs and the number of babies saved (confirmed and verified) resulting from women who choose life.  A flash notice appears like this: “Someone considering abortion in (City, State) just contacted a Center.”  I offer a simple prayer something like this: “Father, in the precious and powerful name of Jesus, I ask that Your Holy Spirit will move upon this mother’s heart in (City & State) and convict her of sin, righteousness, and judgment that she would think beyond the immediate and look forward to a blessed future.  I pray she changes her mind about having an abortion.  I ask you to grant her comfort, courage, and strength to choose life and the blessings it brings.  In the name of Jesus I thank you.  Amen.”  Then, I address the next prayer concern, and the next, until I am released to go about my day.

For my Facebook friends, who share my conviction for life, check out OFL’s Facebook Page. 

I’m grateful a woman chose life for me, allowed me to be born in the spring of 1952, and put me up for adoption.  I’m glad to be alive and thankful to Almighty God I can add my voice for those who do not yet have one.  For those who join me in prayer for these precious lives, I know God hears our prayers.  Maybe He will withhold His judgment of our nation although we deserve it for murdering over 57 million innocent babies.

Testimonial - 2014 Colorado Christian Writers' Conference

I began attending the Colorado Christian Writers’ Conference (CCWC) in 2005.  I came empty to the 2014 conference – no ideas, no direction, no purpose.  I had completed the work I believe God called me to write.  I wondered what God wanted next.  My experience over the past nine years assured me that God would meet me on the mountain.  I had no idea that God would speak with such clarity.

 

During these annual visits, I have made many close, fellow-writer friends.  At the 2014 conference, I should not have been surprised when during breaks, or designated times of fellowship, several men and women I’ve grown to trust, offered to pray for me.  On four different occasions, these fellow believers spoke the word, “Transition,” during their respective prayers.  Then, one keynote speaker emphasized that God was about to bring a, “Shift,” into our writing ministries.  I left the 2014 conference with a clear expectation that my life was about to change.  Little did I know how much.

After 35 years of combined military and Aerospace Industry service to the Department of Defense (DOD), I had planned to retire on or about my 40^th career-year anniversary.  But at the 2014 conference, I had a sense that God was calling me to retire sooner.  On June 4, 2014, I suffered a second, more severe, heart attack.  While doctors and nurses worked to keep me alive, I asked, “Lord, is this the, ‘Shift’?”  After I was released from the hospital, I had a follow-up visit with my primary-care doctor.  She stated with the firmness of an angry judge, “You are never going back to work.”  Because of the Doctor/Patient privileged relationship, I had let my doctor know – to a point – what I did in support of my company and the DOD.  But no one, not even my superiors at work, knew all that I did, and for security reasons, nor could they.

Within days, a conflict arose between demands from work, my doctor’s insistence, and God’s calling.  Work needed to know how my company would fulfill its contract responsibilities without access to the documents, points of contact, and who could replace me.  Due to my medical condition, my company’s Human Resources representatives prohibited me from talking with anyone from my company or my customers.  Throughout this period, I kept seeking God for what He wanted me to do.  I had confidence the Lord had a solution that would bring peace to all concerned.

As my condition improved, I believe God granted me wisdom so that I could negotiate a deal between my doctor and my company so that I could be released to return to work.  My company agreed to assign all of my programs to other managers as the program customers approved them.  An example of how reluctant customers are to replacing, “Key Personnel,” I had one manager approved to assume my duties for one of forty-plus programs after one month.  Then, God intervened.

Due to the President’s commitment to reduce defense spending, my company responded with several cost cutting initiatives.  One included a reduction and restructuring to its staff.  The day I returned to work, the company announced its early retirement offer to employees who were contemplating retirement in the near future.  I saw this offer not only as a gift from Heaven, but for me, I believed that rejection of the offer would be an act of disobedience.  Once I notified my customers that I would retire before Christmas, they approved my recommended replacements.  This made both my customers and company happy.  My last day arrived.  I never knew the burden I bore until God lifted it off of me and set me free from it.  The, “Transition,” or “Shift,” may still have steps ahead, but it is clear that The Almighty is ordering them.  Thanks in part to last year’s CCWC, God gave me prior notice of the next chapter He has prepared for me to write for His glory, to advance His Kingdom, and have readers better appreciate His gifts of life and liberty.