Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is

You all know that I have been advertising the 40 Days for Life on my sidebar for a few weeks now. Well, reminder time - it starts this Wednesday, Sept. 24th. You can participate simply by committing to pray and fast for these 40 days to bring an end to abortion. You can also go here and find participating locations in your area and sign up to join a peaceful prayer vigil outside an abortion clinic. Also, don't forget my friend Sarah who is organizing a Rosary for Life by assigning participants a decade to pray each day for the intention of ending abortion.

If you've been reading my blog for awhile you will remember that I used to be pro-choice. In the last year, especially, I have really felt called to do as much as I can to bring about an end to this holocaust that is happening in our country. I look at it as restitution for my past indifference. I have talked about it, I have shared my story, I have prayed... but one thing I haven't done is attend a rally or prayer vigil right outside an abortion clinic. I've really felt in my heart that it was something I needed to do, but, to be honest, I've been kind of scared to.

So when the representatives organizing the local vigil in my area came to speak at Mass this Sunday, I, again, felt a strong pull to do it. But the excuses started coming...and the biggest one was finding a babysitter to watch my kids while I am there. Of course, when God wants you to do something, He doesn't concern Himself too much with our excuses. I looked at the sign up sheet and realized that the day my parish is covering is Tuesday, which is the day that all of my kids are in school, including the baby who goes to a morning babysitting program at the pre-school. I still didn't really want to do it by myself, but it felt like I would be telling God "no" at this point, which I don't ever want to do. I told myself that I wouldn't be alone, just with people I don't know yet. So I signed up for the 10-11 shift every Tuesday of the 40 days.

Later that day I had one of those moments when everything comes together and it just confirms that you are doing exactly what He wants you to do. I got an e-mail from my friend Kathy that afternoon. She had been at a different Mass than me and she, and another friend, had signed up for the Tuesday 10-11 shifts, did I want to do it too? I could hardly believe it! They had signed up for the exact same time slot when they could have chosen any time that day! I think that because I took the plunge, and answered God's call without the safety net of a group of friends to do it with, He made sure I would have that group of friends anyway.

So, I am putting my money where my mouth is. I will let you all know how it goes, what it's like, what I saw, what I felt... And I am again urging everyone to participate in some way. Click here for more information.