Jesus gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit…He desires to release much more in us and through us than we could ever imagine. These gifts are given for delivery, not for accumulation. We receive them to pass them on to others.
– Jack W. Hayford
As noted in earlier articles, I am a sidewalk counsellor at our local abortion clinic. Mercifully, this clinic is small; there is only one abortionist. On a Saturday morning a couple of years ago, something strange happened. I observed a woman drive into the parking lot in a white Mercedes SUV. She emerged from her car holding a nice camera. She then went up to each prolife sidewalk counsellor, stood inches from each of us, and proceeded to snap pictures right in front of our faces. After obnoxiously taking my picture, she moved on to a Hispanic couple praying at the fence outside the clinic. The Hispanic couple is there every Saturday, year around, even in January in Minnesota where it's sometimes 20 degrees below zero! Standing nearby, I watched as the woman taunted the couple. I can't remember the exact words she used but I remember her hand gestures, her derogatory language, and that she essentially told them to "scat." I was angry. How dare this strange woman attack a couple who was so dedicated -- coming to the clinic every Saturday and praying for the unborn.
So, I approached and stood next to the couple. I said two things to the woman who was yelling at them. I suggested that instead of taking our pictures she should go inside the abortion clinic and take pictures of the mutilated babies that she didn't want the world to know about. Secondly, I said, "I hope the almighty dollar is worth it." The woman became incredibly angry. After saying that about the almighty dollar, I felt a little foolish. Where did these words come from and why did I say this to a photographer taking pictures outside an abortion clinic? Well, I was soon to find out.
A couple of Saturdays later, that same white Mercedes pulled into the lot. I was standing next to a man who works for Prolife Action Ministries and oversees the sidewalk counsellors. As the woman got out of her car, he called out, "June." I was completely shocked. June was the name of the abortionist. I found myself wishing I had known at the time that the woman snapping our pictures was the abortionist. It dawned on me, however, that it was the Holy Spirit who had prompted my "strange" words. As angry as June was, I knew my words had somehow touched her.
Why am I telling you this story?
This weekend I received a Helpline call and had cause to remember this Holy Spirit moment. A woman, Lauren, shared with me that she is a patient advocate in another state who is part of an online support group for brain-injured patients and their loved ones. She told me about the following situation and asked for HALO's help. (Names have been changed for privacy.)
Maria was in a care facility in New Jersey. Maria had never designated a medical power of attorney (POA). She had at least two adult children – a son (Kevin) and daughter (Ellie). Maria suffered from a brain injury and horrible bed sores. The care facility had convinced Maria's children to place their mother in hospice and have the feeding tube removed. Unbelievably, it appeared that the core reason for removing her feeding tube was because they didn't want Maria to continue to suffer from bed sores!
After becoming aware of this situation, Lauren reached out to Ellie and explained that, without the feeding tube, Maria would not die from an actual disease; rather, her mom would die from dehydration. Lauren also told Ellie that her mom's bed sores could be treated, and no one should be put to death to prevent them from suffering from bed sores.
In response, Ellie informed the care facility that she had changed her mind and wanted her mom transported to a hospital where she could have the feeding tube restored. The facility said they could no longer take direction from her because her brother Kevin had signed the hospice paperwork. Therefore, they considered him to be the medical POA. Unfortunately, it was proving impossible to get hold of Kevin. Because Maria had been without food and water for four days, timing was critical. Maria needed to be moved to a hospital where she could have the feeding tube immediately restored.
While I was reaching out to attorneys and others in HALO's network and researching medical POA rules for the state of New Jersey, Lauren notified me that Kevin was found! Thankfully, he had agreed that his mom should be removed from hospice care and moved to a hospital to have the feeding tube restored. Praise God!
As Ellie & Kevin were on their way to the care facility to remove their mom from hospice, I encouraged Ellie to stay strong and offered to answer any questions she had on feeding tubes. Ellie said she wanted to share something with me that the care facility had told her, so that I could, in turn, share it with families facing similar situations.
Maria's care facility had recently promised that, if her
mom died in hospice care, they would help the family
with funeral expenses.
As she pondered this "offer," it struck her how horrific it really was. She felt she was being bribed to let them kill her mom.
I know it was the Holy Spirit.
In the course of dealing with Maria's situation, Lauren and I talked about patient advocacy efforts in general. We discussed the annual Washington, D.C. March for Life and the so-called "prolife generation." We agreed that, while it's wonderful to see young people who are passionate about the abortion issue, it would be even greater if they were equally passionate about other life issues. For example, why don't we have prolife people standing outside hospices that are known to be killing people? (Editor's note: We recognize that some hospices are life-affirming.) Also, what about all the things that Live Action does with investigations, podcasts, etc.?
I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as a coincidence. I know it was the holy Spirit who prompted my words to the abortionist that Saturday morning. I also I believe it was the Holy Spirit that brought Lauren and me together, an encounter which motivated me more than ever to encourage young people to get involved in the fight for all human life, going far beyond the abortion issue. I am so grateful for the opportunity to "meet" Lauren. Her deeply caring attitude was inspirational. The world needs more Laurens and the world needs more patient advocates.
Whether you decide to volunteer in some capacity (perhaps as a Helpline patient advocate for HALO) or just want to be ready should someone close to you need an advocate, HALO can help you prepare. For more information, visit www.halovoice.org or email feedback@halovoice.org.
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