Preborn Lifeguard – ON DUTY

Why Ohio should Vote Yes on Issue One

A long time ago I said I’d write a book titled, “The Things I’d Tell You if I Wasn’t So Afraid.”

Turns out, I’m telling you now, starting with a blog post.

Fear of Being Judged as Judgmental

The thing about fear is that it holds you back from doing the things you were called to do. It keeps you muzzled for fear of looking like an idiot, an outsider, or even worse… the twenty-first century crime of all crimes… it makes you look (gasp) intolerant.

There’s nothing worse in our culture than to be labeled as intolerant and judgmental. Too often, people are canceled for standing up for what they believe in. For years, I lived under the fear of sharing what I believe for fear of repercussions.

I’m a peacemaker, but in the past, how this usually manifested was through conflict avoidance. I tried hard to keep the peace within my circles.

Seeing problems and conflicts from different points of view lets me listen and try not to judge those with different opinions than me. Often, I would find myself stuck in the middle. Examples include having church friends who were on two different sides of an issue or coworkers who assumed that everybody who’s sane is voting the same way they are!

In the past, there was no way anyone was getting my true thoughts out of me! And good heavens, I could never publicly pick a side and cause division or worse, disappointment in my character!

Purifying Fire

Now, something has changed. In the past few years, I’ve been put in a furnace and then the fire was turned up seven times hotter, like in the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3. I believe I’ve come out of the furnace more impervious to people’s opinions of me as a human being. In fact, like in the story, as the men were unwilling to bow in worship to a false god, I’m unwilling to bend my knee to worship the values of a temporary world when my eyes are fixed on eternity.

I’m still the same me, with the same convictions, but now, I’m ready to tell you about them. And I’m ready for someone to be shocked and appalled, unfriend me, or get the wrong idea about who I am. I’m facing a fear that has held me for a long time…I might be misunderstood.

And that is ok, truly, because, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”

I live for an audience of ONE.

New Job, New Opportunities to Partner with Jesus

I just got a job at a pregnancy resource ministry. We are a life affirming pregnancy center that supports the whole family, from conception to birth and beyond. We serve both men and women, some of whom are facing difficult life decisions while thinking through an unplanned pregnancy. We offer support through parenting classes and provide for physical needs like diapers, formula, and clothing.

When someone chooses abortion instead of life, we have a team who lovingly care for and support those who suffer the effects of past abortions. In short, we show the love of Jesus to everyone.

I get to be part of that.

Preborn Lives Have Value

I am pro-life. I always have been, albeit quietly, as I showed my support at the polls or discussed my thoughts with like minded individuals. Now I’m telling you out loud.

I am standing up for the preborn. I want to support the moms who feel they have nowhere to turn. I want to celebrate life with moms and dads who chose to give birth after considering alternatives. I want to be part of the healing love that brings people back to wholeness after experiencing the trauma of having an abortion.

I want to be a lifeguard to the preborn.

When I was young, I was a lifeguard. Through training, I learned how to save precious lives from drowning. I took my job so seriously I would be a nervous wreck when I came home. I had to quit for my own sanity because the pressure of safeguarding life was intense to me!

Later as a children’s librarian, I was tasked with a role to be tolerant of all the different views and opinions of others. But I had to close my eyes to the truth. Hide my convictions. Look away when people or books said that life has no design, no purpose, no meaning beyond a biological function or choice. Even though I disagreed, I had to stay silent for fear of recrimination. In church recently, I publicly repented for turning a blind eye.

The truth is–every life matters to God. He is the Creator who fashioned each person in their mother’s womb. Check out Psalm 139:13-18 if you need a reminder.

You are not an accident. You have a purpose and your days, each moment, matters to God. Right now he is thinking good thoughts about you…hoping for your future, desiring you to turn toward him. He is thinking those same good thoughts about a preborn baby’s future right now.

It’s Time to Stand for Life, Ohio!

In Ohio, there is a proposed issue coming in November that would allow babies to be aborted up until birth and deny parents rights to make choices for their children’s health and future. Did you see that? Aborted up until birth? Think of the newborn you recently saw at the grocery store. Now think, just a day before they were born, they could have been aborted…legally. That’s what is at stake in Ohio right now.

On Tuesday, August 8, Ohioans have the opportunity to vote Yes on Issue One which will raise the threshold to change the Ohio constitution from 50 percent and instead make it 60 percent. Raising the threshold will make it more difficult to pass issues that change the Ohio constitution. Issues like the proposed November abortion changes to Ohio’s constitution would take more votes to pass. This in turn, safeguards the laws Ohio has already passed that protect life, like the Heartbeat Bill.

You can read a lot more information about Issue One from Center for Christian Virtue.

Vote Yes on Issue One

Church, it’s time to stand up. Choose life. Jesus ALWAYS chose life. If you have turned to him as your Lord, he chooses your life to save and redeem. His ministry of healing every person who came to him shows that every life has value.

Let’s be his hands and feet this election session. Vote Yes on Issue One.

If you don’t agree, now is the time that we can have a nice chat.

No matter your views, know that you are loved by me and more importantly, you are loved by God.

Peace to you, friend.

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