Posted on 03/28/2005 9:05:11 AM PST by woollyone
On Wednesday of last week, my friend and I just couldn’t stand it any more. The frustration, the anger, the sorrow overwhelmed us to point that we needed to do something. We had called the POTUS, the Governor, the Florida Senators and DCF numerous times. The responses to those calls ranged from “we’re doing everything we can.”…to…interrupting our message with a rude, disinterested “thank you for calling”. There was no place we would rather be on Good Friday that supporting Terri’s fight and Terri’s family.
We took Friday off of work, loaded up the truck Thursday night and drove from Broward County up to Pinellas Park. We arrived at the hospice very early Friday morning- at about 2 AM. The air was thick with fog. There was a light misting drizzle and there was lightning flashing across the sky, with a delayed rumbling of thunder, as a storm seemed to be approaching. It light of the events unfolding, the fog, darkness, and lightning and thunder seemed appropriate for the horror that is unfolding for Terri and her family.
Before getting out of the truck, we pulled alongside a man who, along with others, was leaving the hospice area. We asked him the current status of Terri, which he didn’t know. He noticed that we had brought my dog and immediately warned me that the police had threatened others with dogs that if their dog barks that the police would “take it away”. I brought the dog because I did not have anyone to care for her on short notice while I was gone (As it turned out, bringing the dog was a blessing to others). The gentleman also warned us that the situation had gotten rather tense earlier in the night, as the pro-death crowd had come and were harassing Terri’s supporters. Further, he related that a major thunderstorm was predicted to converge on the area within the next hour, with hail, lightning and up to 60 mph winds. He warned us to be careful as he walked away with a wish for God’s blessing on us.
We left the dog in the truck, as we decided to survey the situation before setting up chairs and such. Upon arriving in front of the hospice we noticed how quiet it was. There were only a dozen or so supporters milling about. Scattered on the ground, sleeping in the fog and drizzle were a handful of the weary. I have to give credit to those faithful for their endurance.
My friend (I’ll call her “M”) and I decided that it would be best to find a hotel room, get a few hours of sleep and avoid the storm. The storm never came. We got a room, three hours sleep and at 7 AM on Friday, returned to the hospice.
It was God’s Friday. We brought a 10’ banner that a sign company made up for us, 240 cups, 240 candles, grape juice, unleavened water crackers. As we would be missing the Easter worship service, we hoped that we could at least partake in Holy Communion there in front of the hospice and maybe provide that opportunity to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
As the rising sun burned the morning fog away, the temperature rose, along with the number of people who were arriving. There were people from everywhere! They came from Washington State, as well as Washington DC…they came from California, Arizona, Indiana, Texas, Illinois, the New England states.
The hospice is located on the South side of an East-West street. The media tents are located across the street on the North side. The protest area was a fenced off area on the South side, between the sidewalk and the street. It looked like a cattle run. The sidewalk was accessible, provided that you “keep moving”, as the police so often declared. If you stepped on the grass south of the sidewalk, you were told to please move onto the sidewalk and that you were trespassing. Speaking of the police, I have to say that their emotions were mixed and they were polite overall. Certainly the obstinate protesters received harsher rhetoric from the police, but I believe that most of the officers were empathetic to the situation. I think the weirdness and the threats of violence had them on edge. All this is not to overlook those officers who just had to play tough-guy, I’m-the-law-and-you’re-scum attitude, but there very few of them (in my observation).
Walking around to observe the scene, as the crowd swelled, there were many things that just assaulted my heart and mind. The first thing to note is the tremendous amount of prayer that was continuous. There were many tears spilling on the ground and many grass-stained knees. There were open Bibles everywhere and God’s Word was being read silently with weeping, declared aloud with a call for holiness and repentance, and shouted with righteous indignation. There were prayer warriors on their faces in the grass a block away in their “prayer closets” as an attempt to get away from the disruptors, the foolish ones and the cameras. There were prayers circles where believers from varying denominations were agreeing in unity, as they appealed for God’s mercy, peace, comfort and resolution/intercession. There were small circles of believers taking turns reading the Psalms aloud and reading the promises of Jesus aloud. The small circles of believers would go from weeping to bold prayer, then to reading, then to singing, then to reassuring conversation, and back to prayer. These scenes were the most prominent activity in all of the people.
Periodically, an annoying fool would come up to us to converse in silliness, or we just needed to stretch our legs so would we walk through the people. God was there. His presence filled the air. There was peace that was only explained by His presence. Walking, the prayers of His children were rising, the tears were falling and His praises were being sung. Our hearts were moved to return to prayer. I imagine that it would be difficult for anyone there to not have wept. There were even tears in the eyes of some of the media.
There were a few pastors and priests present. An announcement went out that two services would be conducted- one for Protestants and one for Catholics. Each service was held away form the media area in an effort to keep it holy and to avoid the distractions that the cameras would have on the hearts that truly wished to worship on Good Friday. Needless to say, the cameras came running to zoom in anyway. They were admonished to not be intrusive during the service, but were not very accommodating. The bread and wine were distributed. God was honored and hearts were moved to repentance, humility and thankfulness to Him. Afterwards, “M” told me that during the entire service, a Monarch butterfly had landed on the barricade right behind the pastor. During the entire service, the butterfly remained. At the final “Amen”, the butterfly flew away.
Later, in another separate area, there was a Catholic Mass along with the Stations of the Cross. The Catholic Mass was conducted a number of times during the three days we were there. The Rosary was prayed non-stop. When one group would conclude, another would begin. The Rosary was prayed while kneeling, and standing in groups, and walking. Though I am not a Catholic, and don’t agree with some Catholic doctrine and methodology, I have to say that these brothers and sisters of ours prayed without ceasing, from the depths of their hearts.
Each day, there were people arrested for trespassing. Essentially, this was very organized. There would be a meeting to all who desired to cross the line and offer Terri water. The process of arrest was explained, including the location of the jail, the amount of bail, the method of booking and transportation was provided as necessary to bail out those who would be arrested. It was clearly stated that nobody should be compelled to cross the line, but that each had to make the decision that was upon his or her heart.
The most heart-wrenching and inspiring story is that of Joshua. Joshua is ten years old. The meaning of his name is “Jehovah God Saves” and the Hebrew name of our Lord. Joshua is from Virginia (IIRC). He begged his dad to come to Florida to support and pray for Terri. It was his idea. His dad Scott, with his mom’s permission, headed off to Pinellas Park. Talking with Joshua, he said that he wanted to come down here because “Jesus would want Terri to have him pray for her and her family”. When in front of the hospice, he told his dad that he wanted to give Terri some water because “Jesus would want to give Terri water”. He knew that his son would be arrested, and asked for support, which he immediately received from his wife and the body of Christ. Joshua crossed the line. He took a stand for what His Lord convicted his ten-year-old heart to do. This Joshua is a mighty man of God and He has a certain plan for his life. He did what many were not willing to do. May this boy be immensely blessed!
Terri’s family came and went throughout the time we were there. As the days passed, the weariness upon them was increasingly evident. In the entire time that we were there, MS was not to be seen. A few said that he was constantly inside, while others stated that he hadn’t shown up at all. I don’t know what the real story is.
Saturday morning began with coffee at the hotel and some quiet time before heading to the hospice. For me, reading included Proverbs chapter 26. It is a strong caution regarding fools. In Proverbs, the term fool is related to the un-godly. One verse states; “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him.” I had serious reservations about returning to the hospice, as I was concerned over the foolish that were parading about and expressed this to “M”. We had seen some pretty weird stuff. There people who would go out into the street to get on their knees in front of the CNN cameras. There was the guy with the mega-phone who declared that everyone was not in the real faith, except him. There was the guy declaring the King James Only mantra. There was the woman screaming profanity like a person suffering from turrets syndrome. There was the guy carrying a skeleton and the guy dressed up as Solomon and the guy carrying a bloodied baby-doll with a bloody sword through its skull. There was the goofy woman who carried what appeared to be a plastic bowl with potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil with a sign on the front that said; “30 pieces of silver”, who would seek out every opportunity to get interviewed and say something senseless. Then there were the rent-a-mob goofballs. Most had departed the night before we arrived, but a few lingered, with shouts that must have certainly caused deep wounds to the Schindler family should they have heard their insults. A Messianic Jewish woman (God bless her heart!) arrived on Sunday. She had brought t-shirts and pins to distribute. One woman kept coming over to her to mooch more stuff. It was almost as if she saw these gifts as some sort of Disney World Souvenirs. By the time she was done loudly complaining about this and that type or size t-shirt, that this pin wouldn’t be good for her husband “do you have one more suitable for him” and “do you have any of this or that”, she had absconded at least three or four of each item that our sister had brought. We finally got tired of her mooching and complaining as “M” tried to read the Psalms through the resounding nonsense that I had to ask her to leave.
God had blessed us with Proverbs 26 that morning and we avoided the fools at every opportunity. Sometimes we would be sitting and reading and someone would come up to begin foolish talk, bantering accusations, whining complaint, overbearing lecturing, or simply weird Christianity. One woman began with the comment that; “You know that they are poisoning us right!?!” I asked what in the world she was talking about, to which she pointed toward the sky and declared; “They are spraying chemicals on us…don’t you see the chem-trails?!?” It was times like this when “M” would quickly get up and walk away.
This whole thing seemed surreal. Here was an innocent woman being killed by her husband through starvation and dehydration. Here family pleads for mercy. The husband (INO) insists, along with the Judge that the woman must die. And for what? I don’t need to go into the facts here, as nearly everyone has read them over and over again. This is sick. A horror. A tragedy for Terri’s family. It has been said that none are so blind as those who will not see. The intentional blindness is unbelievable. The weirdness is astounding. The steadfastness of God is obvious. On Saturday afternoon, I turned to “M” and said that this whole thing is as a Salvador Dali painting…elements of reality twisted and distorted to make no sense, leaving the observer with a wrinkled brow and a puzzled look and asking what sense there is in all of this. Later, as we walked to get some water, we walked past a man who was on the phone describing the scene. He said to his friend; “Dude this is like a Salvador Dali painting.”
It was our intent to return home after seeing the disruptive nonsense escalate. The media is completely out of touch with reality (so what’s new huh!?!). The foolishness was building. We went to eat and after a large meal decide to stay the night rather than drive while being so exhausted. The next morning, we both agreed that we couldn’t go home without returning to quickly pray at the hospice. We ended up staying all day again. Again, much prayer for Terri, the Schindlers and our government leaders, and for MS.
In the end, the question remains what is being accomplished there? Well, Terri is still starving to death and dying of thirst. Her parent’s hearts are still broken. The Judicial system is still a tyranny that is behaving outside of its Constitutional guidelines. The legislature and the executives have been neutered. The estranged husband and his minions still march toward the desire of killing an innocent Terri. The media is still operating on an elitist agenda.
But God is being glorified...even in this tragedy.
Throughout the time we were there, the Schindler family would periodically walk through the supports and state their sincere thanks for the support they were receiving and how much they appreciated our prayers. They attended the prayer vigils and communion. Mr. Schindler in particular seemed as though he gained strength by walking among the throng of believers. It was easily seen that this man’s heart is broken, but that prayers were supporting him and that he was truly thankful.
We drove home last night in silence. Just as on the drive to the hospice, the smell of orange blossoms filled the truck with their sweet aroma. It was almost as if this were a confirmation that going to support Terri, support her family and to pray were the right thing to do. Life is in slow motion. It is as though I am still in that distorted Dali paining. “M” read from God’s Word. We prayed and cried. We gave thanks. Finally we did turn on the radio. We heard …”we are standing…on holy ground…and I’m sure that there are angels all around…” A hospice isn’t holy ground by itself, nor is a paved street, or a grassy patch of grass, or even the cab of a pick-up truck. But what makes the ground holy is ground where the Lord is present. And there were angles present. God is right there with Terri…right there with her family. From the beginning of time He knew of these days and tragedies and He is working a plan to His glory in every moment.
God is in this. America is waking up to what she has become. The body of Christ is praying.
God's glory is being declared.
Another bump.
Woollyone, God bless you for the courage of your convictions. What an apt depiction of this whole thing: lost in a Salvador Dali painting. Surrealism is abundant.
How was bringing the dog a blessing to others?
I must agree with you. I am a convert to Catholicism and the same thing stood out to me during her beautiful account of the scene at the hospice.
Let's use this situation to come together and be unified and perhaps take away a better understanding of each other and our differences in doctrines.
I grew up in a family and neighborhood that was predominantly protestant and 'unspokenly anti-Catholic.' As I grew older, I realized that this subconcious negative view towards Catholics often is a result of a lack of understanding of the Catholic faith. I'm not being hostile in what I'm saying, but may I suggest that we educate ourselves about denominations and faiths that differ from our own? By this I do not mean if you're a Baptist - go to your Baptist minister and ask him to teach you about the Jewish faith. Go to the synagoge and ask, observe, participate in their service. Go to a Catholic church and do the same. Go to a Presbyterian church and do the same. By asking and learning with a 'when in Rome' philosophy we step outside of the 'fishbowl' and learn more objectively and without bias. We all worship and praise the same God in heaven. Our forms of worship may differ but ya know what, that's ok.
I'm sure the words weren't intentional to 'hurt or offend' but please be careful by hidden motivations when you say something like this or how someone perceives it. There is a lot of anti-Catholic retorhic out there that is misinformed and can be damaging to those who honestly 'just don't know' what we really believe as Catholics - or what other denominations agree respectively. It's ok to disagree. But it's best to disagree with an educated opinion.
Back to a positive note - thank you for your beautiful account and going. You were blessed to observe the butterfly and to have the image of a Salvador Dali painting. That is well put. It is warped and makes sense to no one. God will use this tragic situation for good somehow. He always does although we may not see it. May God bless you and continue to give you strength and perserverence! Keep up the pro-life fight!
ping
On Monday, March 28, 2005 at approximately 11:00 am est, seven American citizens met with Representative David Simmons, Chairman of the Florida House Judiciary Committee to A. urge that our leaders save Terri's life and to declare to Representative Simmons that we didn't believe all possible had been done to save an innocent, woman from a painful, gruesome death by dehydration and starvation as ordered per a guardianship judge who lacks compassion. A guardianship judge should be compassionate whether the ward is Terri Schiavo or Jane Doe. B. demand that an exploratory committee be created regarding the impeachment of George W. Greer, Sixth Circuit Court, Pinellas County, Florida. (details being withheld at this time to protect the integrity of the process.) C. demand that Guardianship Laws in Florida are revisited In total to protect all Floridians and their families from bad law.
End of Press Release.
I am a conservative Catholic and I wasn't offended by your comments about the Catholic service. I realize that there are big differences in our prayer "styles" but we will all realize when we meet God that we were all praying to the same "Guy" just in different manners. I was very moved by your article on the goings on at the hospice. I have tried desperately to find a silver lining and you found one for me, thank you! God is such an amazing Father that He is there during our darkest hours.
Thank you for the nice comment and for understanding that I have and had no heart to put down anyone's faith.
His peace to you.
baa
There is something about the living death of Terri Shiavo that unnerves me. An eternity of nothingness in personality, neither heaven nor hell. Yet at the same time I cannot consider her brain death to be the absence of intelligence or biographical life. Her cells improvized during those twelve days without the feeding tube. So perhaps they are intelligent, personified within their microscopic lives. If we were to let her starve, there would still be nothingness in personality and she would also dissolve. I can therefore settle my moral conscience by supporting her continued biological life. Yet at the same time I must draw upon all resources granted to me by god. Those with minds and bodies will be given more of both with emphasis on the greater life of the mind. Those with only bodies must be given more body. A political preference for functional citizens seems irrelevant in the face of our duty to the universe. We must strive in the river of God's domain to cause all human creatures at once and as a whole to achieve their supreme living capacity.
um...you lost me before I enen finished your first sentence. Sorry.
a ping to you...and welcome home
Great post. God Bless all those praying and making their voices heard amidst this moral insanity.
Please FreepMail me if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.
God bless you guys! Adding this to Terri Bookmark Mountain with headline [Good Friday Protesters for Terri] for reference purposes. Thank you for writing all this!
http://www.freerepublic.com/~arthurwildfiremarch/links?U=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freerepublic.com%2Ffocus%2Ff-news%2F1371774%2Fposts%3Fpage%3D7
Wow! Thank you for pouring your heart out on this. I feel it. And I have a close one who will be comforted by it. Thank you again and FReegards....
If she is semi-conscious, and there's much reason to believe she is, how much morphine would it take to keep her out of a living hell? It's evil. No other word describes what's happening to her. But one thing I've been told, a family saying that I don't know how far it dates back: "God will only allow you to feel so much suffering." He may comfort you with His tingling presence. Or, you may simply pass out. But I don't give the other side or those in doubt that satisfaction. So I hadn't mentioned it that much.
When we strip someone of all mercy but God's, that is evil, short and simple.
--FReegards....
This whole thing is like a Dali painting. I had never thought of it that way, but it makes sense.
To me it seems more and more like the prelude to something. Something dark or perhaps something good, I don't know. I do know that a corner has been turned.
y.v.w.
cp pleae add me to your pro-life ping list.
Thanks!
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