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I’m in the middle of a quick two-day trip to
Pennsylvania. I was able to meet the 40 Days for Life
team in Hanover yesterday afternoon ... and this
morning, I’m looking forward to a stop at the vigil
site in Harrisburg.

I’m getting flooded with great stories about the FOUR
groups impacted by a 40 Days for Life vigil:

* women pondering abortion
* the people who run the abortion centers
* the people who drive by the vigils
* and all of YOU who are praying and fasting

Here’s a quick summary:

MARIETTA, GEORGIA

“This was a first for me — to pray aloud on a public
sidewalk,” said Mike, one of the prayer volunteers in
Marietta. But with other members of the Knights of
Columbus present, “I found a peace in the unity we
share in our common prayer.”

He quickly saw the value of prayer in front of the
abortion center. “It brings our petitions in sharper
focus and gives greater meaning to the charitable act
of praying for others.”

At one point, a mother and son drove by and smiled at
them — then turned around and came back. They told the
volunteers they didn’t have time to stop, but they
would pray — “right now!”

“Please prayerfully consider coming,” Mike asked, “and
joining our peaceful effort. Together, we can help
inspire a prayerful change in our community — one or
two beating hearts at a time!”

For a photo of 40 Days for Life volunteers in Marietta,
please go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2427

FORT PIERCE, FLORIDA

About 30 people attended a 40 Days for Life event
outside the abortion center in Fort Pierce. “The next
morning,” said Jim in Fort Pierce, “one of the clients
left without having an abortion.”

A week later, the clinic didn’t open as usual. “That
rarely happens,” he said. “We attribute that to all
of the prayer and fasting during 40 Days for Life.”

On a normal Saturday, there would have been between
five and ten abortions. “But there were none,” said
Jim. “Thank God!”

To see a picture of 40 Days for Life in Fort Pierce,
please go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2427

TOLEDO, OHIO

A young woman was on her way to the abortion center
when one of the 40 Days for Life volunteers asked to
talk to her. She doesn’t really know why this woman
agreed to talk — but she did.

The young woman said she hadn’t decided on abortion —
but she hadn’t ruled it out, either. She was at the
facility that day for an ultrasound.

That gave the volunteer an opening. Why not go to a
pro-life center for an ultrasound instead, she asked
— and save the money?

The young woman responded, “Then what?”

The volunteer answered that they would then call one
of the local Christian agencies “to discuss the options
that will save the lives of you and your baby.”

The woman agreed — and called the adoption service to
set up an appointment.

One of the workers in the adoptions office wrote back
to the 40 Days for Life coordinator and said, “Prayer
changes things!”

Day 23 - October 20

Intention:

We pray for the strength to love those who do not love us.

Scripture:

But the Lord said "You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in the night and perished in the night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left, and much livestock? Should I not be concerned about that great city?"

-- Jonah 4:10-11

Reflection:

God doesn't value people and things like we do. Jonah loved a shade tree more than an entire city of sinful people. We love our dogs more than a terrorist. We love our cars more than a beggar on the side of the road. And sometimes, we love our money more than a child growing in a desperate teenager's womb.

But God isn't like us. Genesis 1 tells us that humans were the capstone of God's creation. We were created on the sixth day after God had completed the land, the stars, the plants and the animals. Therefore, His love for us is greater than His love for a plant, an animal, or any other created thing. And the book of Jonah tells us that He loves even the most sinful people and seeks to bring them into His merciful arms. And it's a love that seeks to touch all of his created children: that desperate teenager, the baby growing in her womb, even tyrants and terrorists. So it's up to us to imitate God's merciful love by helping and praying for those who persecute us, and those who don't love us back.

Prayer:

Gracious God, loving our enemies seems like one of most difficult things you could ask of us. Please remind us that this is how you love and that if you ask it of us then you will give us the grace to do it. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Dennis DiMauro
Lutherans for Life representative to the National Pro-life Religious Council