One Heart at a Time

Earlier in the year, I was correcting my brother's science school work. He was studying biology and was in the section about the human body. This particular lesson was about the beginning of life, learning about how babies survive and grow in the mother's womb ect. Also in this lesson, he learned about the horrible facts surrounding abortion. He was asked to write a description of each type of abortion method, and when he was finished, he looked at me and said "This is really sad. With each different method, the babies are literally being tortured."
While I read his work, I wanted to just sit there and cry. Yes, I knew it all already, but it is easy to stuff it, you know? It is not until you read about it in a book, or see evidence of it on the internet that it becomes more real. And my heart breaks.

I got to thinking about the election in the USA. I mean, it was hard to ignore, being all over they news and social media. I read a blog post, where the blogger stated that even though there are glaring issues in both parties, she would definitely be voting one way because of the restrictions that person placed on abortion.
That then got me to thinking about our abortion laws, or lack thereof. And that got me looking up the abortion rates in Canada vs the USA.
I found that since 1988, there have been no criminal abortion laws in Canada, yet, as of 2014, our abortion rates are not only dropping, but are also lower than that of the the United States.
All of this lead me to wonder, in regarding to our country's morality, is there so much weight in who is president, or what laws are passed?
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that we don't need them. Nor am I saying that the work people do in the pro-choice movement is for nothing. I can't even pretend to know what comes out of their efforts.

What I am saying is this. The bible says in Romans 13:1 that there is no authority/power established except for what is ordained by God. Yes we can pray, petition, rally, and do all we can to influence what happens in our government, but nothing catches God by surprise.
When you whittle everything down, it comes to one person. One woman that is desperately searching for the answer to her problems, one heart that needs to be reached with love and acceptance. One life that could be saved if we would just take the time to listen to God, and listen to people.

After thinking through all of this, I asked myself the question. What can I change in my life, so that I can reach that one person? Because you know, there are far more issues in our world than abortion. At this moment, there are millions of people that have lost all hope. That hopeless and desperation manifests itself in so many ways.

Recently I stumbled across a pregnancy care center called "Hope Now Family Concepts".
It had been on my heart for a long time to volunteer at such a place, but never took action to these promptings.
After being out-of-the-blue asked to consider volunteering there by a friend, and encouraged to do so by my Dad, I decided to listen to that still small voice, and signed up to volunteer.

In the car, returning home from my first day working at the Hope Home, the tears rolled down my face.
I was overwhelmed by the amount of connection and compassion I felt for the residents. I was encouraged to see Jesus in the hearts of the Houseparents, and to hear stories of how God had used them to be His hands and feet.

"This is what God calls us all to do", the thought repeated itself over and over as I drove. He wants us to love. To make a difference in the lives of His children.
I felt His heart in a new way.
I was blessed.

And you know, you don't have to work at a pregnancy care centre to touch the lives of the hurting.
Every day, we have the opportunity to share the hope that we have. We never know the kind of influence that we can have on other's lives. That is why it is so important to be ready. Ready with an act of love, a smile, a hug, a kind word.
Even to those people that may seem strange, or crazy, it is often they that need good influence in their lives.
Even to those that are withdrawn or people who seem to have it all together. Sometimes their heart is crying out for someone to just listen and understand what they are going through. Believe me, I have been one of those people.

Take action today, and make a difference for Christ, one heart at a time.