Something New

Well, make that two somethings new. First time I've used a blog, and first time I've stood outside an abortion clinic to pray...

A brief "who am I?": I'm a graphic artist at a major Houston newspaper. (That should narrow it down enough for you to guess where.) And a practicing Catholic who attends Annunciation Church downtown. If you've never been there, you must visit. It's beautiful. Gorgeous. Traditional. And old. My husband and I got married there, which is another reason I love it. When I get up early enough on Sunday, I like to attend Mass in Latin. Otherwise, I'm a regular at 5:30 on Sunday evening.

I found out about 40 Days for Life through announcements in the church bulletin. One Sunday, I took one of the sign-up forms with me after Mass and thought about it. Prayed about it. A little self-encouragement here, a little trying-to-talk-myself-out-of-it there. Abortion is the social/religious/human/political issue I feel most strongly about, yet I'd never done anything about it in public, aside from voting for pro-life candidates. This time, I felt the Lord calling me to something more visible.

Next, I made two phone calls. First, to Houston Coalition for Life. I spoke to someone there for several minutes about the vigil, and came away from the conversation feeling better about the whole thing. I signed up for two hours a week, Monday and Thursday, 7:30-8:30 a.m. Second phone call was to my Dad in Baton Rouge, a retired police captain, to ask him how not to get arrested doing what I signed up to do. He gave me the basics, which are the same as the guidelines we've all been given for the vigil. Sufficiently reassured, I waited for my first day...

Last Thursday, armed with my rosary, I arrived on time and met the shift coordinator. Oh good, he's normal. We made our introductions and prayed the rosary followed by the Divine Mercy chaplet. Here are my initial observations:

1. It's not scary. Nothing weird, crazy, radical or even really exciting happened. Just two people standing out in front of a building praying quietly. Well, I guess that in itself is exciting. I mean, Jesus did promise, "Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am there."

2. Planned Parenthood volunteers are not evil. One walked past us on our side of the fence and smiled. No one yelled at us, told us to move, threatened us or approached us. We did our thing, and we were left alone.

3. It's painful to watch people go inside. We saw couples go in together and girls with what looked to be their parents or an older adult, which made me think, these girls need support. This isn't something they want to do alone, yet what a horror to be supported in. Young fathers in need of support, too, escorted their wives or girlfriends in. They need our prayers just as much as the mothers do.

4. We are right. Period.

5. "Pray without ceasing." This week, I've been praying more than usual. For everything. Praying for my family, for my job, for safety, for God's will in my life. Every day, there's something new to pray for. And God delivers! I'll never run out of prayers of thanksgiving for all the blessings He's given me, which makes me have faith that our prayers for the unborn are heard. We must pray always for these little ones.

6. I really want to be a mother. My husband and I have been married almost two years. I've always known I want to be a Mom. I have a great relationship with my mother, and I want to share that with my own child. After being there at Planned Parenthood, it made me want it even more. My body isn't my own. It's God's. And my child won't be my own. He will be God's. I'll just be blessed enough to be his mother here for a time.

So those are my thoughts. I'm looking forward to this Thursday. Praying it doesn't rain. Bringing my umbrella just in case.

K.