Chandra White-Cummings
Day 8: In the Power of Our Hand
Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so. Prov. 3:27
Rob Schenck, the president of Faith and Action, calls us today to the sacred call of helping those in need. This call significantly changed the course of the pro-life movement from one primarily, and in some cases, exclusively, concerned with the preservation of the unborn child’s life, to recognition that the mother and families involved need help, too.
In fact, the first pregnancy resource centers (aka crisis pregnancy centers) came about as one answer to this call. This makes sense because the beauty of the privilege of helping others lies in the pragmatism which exposes lip service as disingenuous and unproductive. Why point out someone’s hunger if you’re not willing to give him a meal? And why denounce a woman who feels like she has no options if you can’t provide one?
Pregnancy resource centers add hands and feet to the head and heart of the pro-life message. Each year, they provide thousands of women with parenting education, baby supplies, sexual integrity classes, and post abortion ministry, all without cost to the clients. They help women find hope who feel alone and unsure about their ability to care for and raise a child. Their existence and proliferation has brought a new dimension to our work and in some circles heightened our credibility. In addition, they provide a wonderful opportunity for people to be part of a great solution. The centers are always looking for volunteers to teach a class, mentor a young or expectant mother, help with fundraisers-you name it, they usually need it.
We can do so much. We have power that we take for granted. It’s awesome to consider that the power to change the life of a child and her family is within our hands. So why don’t we do more? Maybe because of this simple principle: we can’t open our hands without first opening our hearts.
Find out more at the 40 Days for Life website.
Previous Posts
• Day 7: Somebody Prayed for Them
• Day 6: Knowing Us
• Day 5: Mercy in the Midst of Judgment
• Day 4: Not for the Faint of Heart
• Day 3: The Unborn Child as Lazarus?