It took some adjusting...of our schedule...our time...and just learning the different personalities that are out there. But God has blessed us on Mondays and now we have several others out there joining us on the sidewalks. We also have seen incredible fruit and had many significant interactions. This year alone..since January...the ministry of Cities 4 Life has seen over 100 women chose life for their babies. These are women that were heading into the abortion clinic. Decision set. Mind made up. And God intervened and allowed them the opportunity to chose life. Praise the LORD!! We are so blessed to be a small part of this ministry...and that God allows us to watch His faithfulness and mercy unfold right before our very eyes.
But there are some days that are hard. Very hard. Last Monday was one of those days. Not long after we had arrived and had gotten settled we saw a woman start walking towards us. She was talking to someone on the phone and we heard her say, "Hold on a minute, I need to talk to these ladies before I go make the worst decision of my life." She was clearly struggling and had tears coming down her cheeks. One of the other counselors, Vicki, started speaking with her and eventually this young mother agreed to have a free ultrasound.
We are very blessed to have a mobile ultrasound unit (a retrofitted RV) that comes and parks on the sidewalk with us. So Vicki and "S" walked over to the unit and those of us on the sidewalk began to pray fervently for her heart to be softened. Not long after, a man drove into the parking lot and began looking around a bit frantically. He asked if he could use one of our cell phones and we asked if he would be interested in taking our literature. He would not. He then asked if we had seen someone and described her for us. We knew he was looking for "S"...and she was on the ultra sound unit. We also knew that there was a high chance that he would be encouraging her to abort...not save her baby. We tried to buy her a few more minutes alone on the unit...but eventually he walked right on..and several minutes later walked off with "S". They began a loud argument that ended with some pushing and shoving. Crying "S" tried to talk with us and we tried to our best to intervene.
The situation only escalated from there...and eventually the police were called. We were worried for "S" and her safety...and we also were concerned that she was being forced to have an abortion.
Once the police arrived they pulled "S" into a safe room and privately asked her if she felt threatened or coerced. Sadly, she negated any concerns and told the police that she was willfully choosing abortion...that it was what was best for her.
In the midst of all this craziness...I felt a tap on my shoulder. To say I was emotionally charged at this moment would be a slight understatement! I was wrapped up in the moment...speaking to "S"...the police...other counselors...getting counsel over the phone from the ministry heads...etc. I was definitely consumed with what was going on around me. But then...the tap. The little interruption.
It was my sweet friend, Jill, letting me know that something was about to transpire. Something that I would definitely want to be a part of! As all of the drama was unfolding, Jill had been engaging the younger two Jimenez kids with her art on the sidewalk. (Jill is an incredible artist!) She had been illustrating the story of Jesus and had culminated with His death and resurrection. Apparently, this had so moved Jackson to the point that he was asking about salvation. She explained what he needed to do...and at that point felt it was time to get Mom! So...on the sidewalk of an abortion mill...with darkness encroaching all around us...my son felt the moving of the Holy Spirit and responded to His call. He asked Jesus to wash his heart and make it clean. With two sweet little tears trailing down his chubby cheeks, he asked if Jesus would forgive him and give him a new heart. It was an incredible moment. A moment that once again reinforced my understanding that it is GOD who wills and moves as He chooses.
I don't want to miss out on these opportunities in my children's lives...simply because I am in the middle of living life. I do not want to be so wrapped up in the moment or the situation that I lose sight of what God is doing in their hearts.
Another of these opportunities recently happened with Amy.
For the past year or so, Amy has been adamant that she has moved beyond "girly" things. She passed her Barbies and dolls onto her younger sister and has been increasingly more vocal about the things the she does not like.
I don't mind either way. She has her preferences and I expect her to have opinions of her own. (Personally I have never been much of a "girly-girly" so I thought she was taking after me!)
But what I did not find acceptable was her comments to her friend this past weekend. She said several things about "girly" things...and those that still played with them...that sounded a bit mean. Almost as if she was superior because of her lack of interest in them.
I let several days go by and prayed about the conversation that was coming up. Usually...I do not approach these situations with the most insight. What I see...or what I observe...tends to be surface level...which does not go beyond behavior. But for some reason, the Lord prompted me to get to the bottom of the "girly" issue.
So I asked Amy...what is the problem with "girly" things? What exactly is "girly"? Why are you so opposed to things that are "girly"? And then we talked. Amy shared her heart. Underneath all of the pretense was a desire to be different. To be special. Unique. Amy had tried to transform her natural inclinations to place her outside of the realm of what was considered "normal". Many tears were shed as Amy tried to verbalize what had been changing her heart. And what an incredible conversation opened up through that transparency. We talked about the danger of conforming. The identity we have in Christ. The value she has in her place in our family. The beauty of her personality and the transformation of salvation.
To be honest...I walked out of her room with an incredible sense of awe in my God. That He would open up this little point in time and give me an opportunity to share with my daughter the truths that I pray will live with her forever. That at nine years of age...we touched on a subject that many of us struggle with all of our lives. That He would equip Amy with the ability to communicate and understand how much this was changing who she is. Who He created her to be.
I am sure that as time goes by this will be a conversation that is revisited. That we will go over the truths that we learned that afternoon. But I pray that as life continues to speed up...that God will stop me and give me a glimpse of what He is transpiring in their hearts. In the midst of life...
