Offer Flowers ⚘

I am continually trying to think of ways to encourage those who are walking from their car to the entrance of Planned Parenthood to come talk to us first. Shouting doesn't work. Never has and never will. Pleading doesn't either. Offering something for free might, but even that is subjective. What seems to work is offering a flower. It doesn't even matter what kind. It seems we just like flowers. For some reason we are attracted to them. Fortunately, we have had a few instances of the offer of a flower being a great way to attract someone to have a conversation. 

In October I had a situation where a young woman was lingering outside of Planned Parenthood looking upset so I offered her a flower. She looked up, walked over and we started to talk. She told me she was pregnant and scared. I asked if she'd like to talk at our outreach building. She said yes. 

I showed her the baby models we have and explained where I thought she was in her pregnancy according to what she told me. She started to smile. We sat down and she talked about all her concerns. It's a scary thing to have your life completely turned upside down. She was scared. Fortunately she has a supportive partner and also a network of family and friends. At one point she remarked “I am pro-life, you have helped me to see this”. Once this happened, I called Sarah on FaceTime so our new mom would have a chance to talk to another person who would be supportive and compassionate. By the end of their conversation. our mom was talking about whether the baby would be a boy or a girl. 

When we called her partner she had the confidence to tell him that she was choosing life. He told her he`d support her completely. She is not only choosing life, she is choosing to live joyfully and he is keeping his promise. Yesterday I had the honor of attending an ultrasound appointment with them. She is midway through her pregnancy and I look forward to seeing them become a family.