Linda For Life Stories From the Sidewalk

 Meeting Halfway  💖💖💖 A Story of a Mother I saw her from a distance on the other side of the parking lot. I called out to her asking if she'd like a free flower. It's amazing what a flower will do. She declined while looking a little frazzled. She walked around almost in circles and then towards another part of the building where there is a walkway down the back parking lot of Planned Parenthood. I walked to the other end of that walkway.   I only have a few moments to convince her that I have support that might really help her. So I just watched and then said casually that I thought “ it might be less intimidating if I wasn’t with a group of happy volunteers.”  We laughed together about that. I asked her if she was okay. She clearly was not. I questioned whether she'd just had a pregnancy test. She replied that she had and that it was positive. I waited a minute and then asked if she was planning to keep the baby. She said she wasn't sure and that she was th...

                                                                             Who would have thought🤔🤔 When you work for a goal that seems guided by the Holy Spirit there are perks and roadblocks that aren’t the same as other types of work. If you are not careful, you can run right into the road blocks and run right into them. You miss the blessings while you are consumed by the road blocks. I try to be aware — acutely aware. Sometimes even when I am trying to be aware the evils run right through me. These evils can come in many forms. Sometimes they are hecklers. We don't always know what our words do to others. Sometimes, the seemingly strongest person is actually the most sensitive. I can take a comment or gesture to bed with me, and mull it over endlessly,...

  The Visit  We all know what it feels like to go back to the place where a crisis occurred. This can be something mental or an actual, physical experience. Sometimes, doing this is healing. Sometimes it's just still plain hard, and part of the hard is making yourself do it. Part of the healing is the feeling of triumph afterwards. Hopefully that's how “Anna” felt after our visit. Anna is one of the moms that chose life after speaking with Monica and I. She was on her way into Planned Parenthood, saw they were closed for a meeting, and turned to talk to us. We talked to her about her circumstances. She was married, with two toddlers. Her IUD had failed, and she was in a crazy, fearful state. She felt overwhelmed caring for her kids. Her husband worked out of town most of the time, and her family wasn't helping. She didn't have any friends, and she felt alone in this plight. We talked about motherhood, friendship, and loneliness, and offered our friendship and support. W...

  Back to “normal”😕 I watched a big new SUV drive up and two women get out. It looked as if the women were mother and daughter. I offered flowers and literature to them, and the older woman waved me away in an angry manner. A few minutes later she went back to the vehicle, started it and drove towards the driveway near where I was standing. I waved and encouraged her to take my literature and I also pointed at our signs that say only encouraging things. I shook my head sadly. I did not know for sure what the situation was, but I’ve been doing this long enough to recognize the actions and reactions in that parking lot. I was sure what it could have been. A little while later the younger woman came out of the building, and I offered her a flower. She walked over to take it, enabling me to ask her a few questions and ultimately asking her if she'd like to talk in our Outreach building. She admitted that she wanted to talk. I led her over, and we spent over an hour talking about her ...