Linda For Life Stories From the Sidewalk

  🙏Miracles Happen When We Least Expect Them Sometimes the most ordinary moments become the ones we never forget. I was packing up to leave the sidewalk when I noticed a young woman standing nearby. She looked uncertain—almost as if she was trying to convince herself of what to do. I walked over and offered her a flower. She accepted it. That small act opened the door to a conversation. I gently asked why she was at Planned Parenthood and what her plans were. Her answers were difficult to follow. Her story seemed to change direction several times, and I wasn't sure what was true and what wasn't. Before I could learn more, she thanked me, turned, and walked inside. As my shift ended, another sidewalk advocate, Sarah, arrived to take over. I told her about the young woman and asked her to watch for her in case she came back out. Not long afterward, she did. Sarah met her on the sidewalk and spent several minutes talking with her. That conversation led to something even more sign...

 😕😕 The truth behind “It`s complicated “ 😕😕 How many times have we heard the phrase, "It’s complicated"?Usually, it just means: I want to do one thing, but I know I should do another. We see this when we choose to sleep in instead of getting up, or eat a cookie we know we shouldn't. Unfortunately, choosing the easier path usually leads to guilt and regret.When I talk to couples outside of abortion clinics, they are in a crisis. Naturally, they want the easier decision to make the immediate pressure go away. But abortion is a decision you cannot undo.The reality many don't realize is that abortion causes physical, emotional, and sometimes financial trauma. The serious side effects—like depression, substance abuse, and future fertility issues—are rarely talked about. If these risks were openly known, people would take a much closer look at what they are about to do. Just today, a young father told me his situation was "complicated" because his parents ar...

  👎👎Dumb and Numb 👎👎 The rise of focus on human trafficking including sex crimes in all forms has caused those of us working and volunteering as pro life advocates or activists to become more aware of signs that a woman entering Planned Parenthood might be at risk. I dont think we can know for sure, all of the signs but my radar goes up when I see certain behavior. This behavior might include someone walking into the clinic with another person who seems to be pressuring them in either by physical force including a hand on the back or holding a hand and leading the person in. I notice when it looks like someone might want the flower I am offering but the other person with them gets in front of the person and refuses the flower or leans in to say something and the woman quickly looks away from me. Other times the woman has her head down and is hurrying in trying to not to look around and someone is waiting in the car for her. The worst most obvious was a seeming young person with...

💝💝  Showing Up  💝💝 When I first started working as a pro life advocate I noticed that others who came out to stand in front of Planned Parenthood seemed to have different purposes for being there. A few just felt called to support but many others had a story. I started to realize these stories helped me understand the different reasons, purpose and fears of those entering the clinic who were experiencing crisis pregnancies. I like to hear other people`s stories because it helps create a community. It`s a form of communication that has been part of life within families and communities since the beginning of time . I think sharing these stories helps everyone involved . It helps those who are telling the story to have an avenue to tell their secrets and to share their wisdom.  I think in the pro life circle it can also have a healing effect. Standing in front of an abortion clinic trying to help in whatever way you can has a way of humbling everyone involved. Seeing the...

🙏🙏🙏  Faith  🙏 🙏 Faith can mean so many things. It can describe how you pursue your spiritual life. It can be another way of describing your confidence in someone's abilities. It can also describe the way you trust in God`s plan. I had a test in all of those areas. I struggled in each place.  I met a mom who was considering taking the abortion pill to abort her child. We talked and then exchanged numbers. She still seemed intent on entering the abortion facility. The next thing I saw was her leaving the parking lot in a car never having gone into the building. I followed up with a text asking what happened. She said she changed her mind and didn't go in. Later that weekend I texted her a couple more times encouraging her. After that I started to lose hope. Sometimes if the mom doesn`t respond it means they`ve changed their minds again. I started to not want to reach out but I did. She responded saying she was glad I did keep sending messages because she`d made another...

 💪💪Power of Prayer  💪💪 I recently got a few updates on moms that have chosen life. One letting me know she`d had her baby a few weeks ago. Another was from the grandmother of the baby. I will remember the one with the grandmother forever because that story is one you hope for. Actually they all are ones you hope for. Iwould lovew it if every mom I spoke with would choose life. This particualr one was unique because it was a multi genertion save. It was a situation where a mother thought she was doing the best that she could by doing what her daughter requested and by not asking questions. Unfortunately and fornately for this mother/grandmother to be , I was there. When I saw the two women walking across the parking lot and then the older one walking out of Planne Parenthood I boldly asked what was going on. The mother said she wasnt sure. Considering I am the mother of four girls I knew that was only partially true because we moms have an intuintion where our girls are con...

                                                                 🚗🚗🚗  Along for the ride🚗🚗🚗 Girls frequently do things in groups. Unfortunately they also visit Planned Parenthood in groups. This was the case the other day. I happened to see a group of girls and I offered them a flower. When they walked up I asked which one was pregnant and one girl raised her hand. We all talked about the situation and I asked if they'd like to go to our new building to talk. They willingly came alone. On the walk over I was able to access who was actually pro life and who was pro choice. In a group it`s good to know this so I know how to address the group. I can focus on the one (s) who are pro life and talk about what a good friend they are to come along to support their friend while she starts to r...

   🙌🙌🙌🙌 Do Not Give Up    🙌🙌🙌 In life it is so wonderful to be able to see things come full circle. We have had a chance to witness this in the name of life.  We had a mom who reluctantly chose life at the start. Time passed and she started to get excited about the birth of her son. She even attended other moms` showers. She was happy and chatted with everyone.  Finally it was time for her shower and she brought her whole family. She was showered with gifts and love and well wishes. A week later she had her baby. We reached out and it was good…for a week. Then we noticed a change. Her text communication was different. She started asking for food and money.  Then she told us she was living at a friend`s house and the baby was removed from her care. Her other children were removed from her care. She admitted she had a drug addiction. It was bad. She was floundering. We stepped back because we dont have the tools to manage drug addiction. We are an...

 🦻🦻 Presentation 🦻🦻 I have always said that you never know who is listening to what you say. I said that while I was coaching sports. Sometimes it was the most difficult athlete that came back and said “thank you, I needed someone to push me the way you did”. Sometimes it was a girl who came around to say “I watched the way you tried so hard to get the team to hear what you were saying and I can tell you really mean what you say so I am going to get the rest of the team on board”.  This time it was a young mom who said “ I am planning to keep my baby because you came to my school when I was in high school and I listened to your presentation about what it means to be pro life”. This time what I said and what the person with me said saved a life. It possibly saved several from a lifetime of sorrow, regret and guilt. If you know me, you know that I say what I think. It doesn't always come out sounding like a lullaby but if you listen closely when I am talking about something ...

🕯🕯 Light  🕯🕯 During the past couple of weeks we`ve had a hard time with construction going on at our facility. It's hard to conduct business as usual. We even had to limit the amount of volunteers. We have had very few prayer warriors. When you do work like this you need as much help as you can get. Evil loves an opening. It loves distraction. It loves discouragement. It's A secret fighter.  Interestingly good loves goodness. It only takes a little bit of goodness to keep people going. In the battle of life sometimes it only takes one breath to keep us going. In the battle of abortion sometimes it only takes one positive conversation to remind us that we are doing good and to remind us that we are doing God's work. I'm not sure why we need to be reminded but we all do. Last week I was reminded of this. I approached a young lady with a flower and a flyer as usual and we started to have a conversation about why she was at Planned parenthood. Fortunately she wasn't...

🙏🙏🙏🙏 Second Chance🙏🙏🙏🙏  Very often you will hear pro life supporters say that if you weren't successful helping a mom choose life this time, you might be next time. I never really felt comfortable with that. It still feels like a fail. The fact of the matter is that if you help save a life, any life, it`s a win. I experienced that a few days ago. We had a “repeat customer”. A mom came back to Planned Parenthood pregnant again. I met her a few months ago and spoke with her at length and thought she'd chosen life. She said she had. I followed up but didn't hear from her. History shows that this is NOT an indication one way or the other. Sometimes moms dont want to be reminded of the fact that they almost chose abortion. Sometimes they will message and tell me they need help because they did in fact choose abortion later. I wasn't sure about this mom. I got a call from Deshawn asking if I was one my way because he had a mom who was abortion minded and reminded me t...

  You never know who is listening 👂👂👂👂👂 Today I was at the park talking to the moms and dads with their babies. The question of what  to do for a living often comes up because I wear a uniform shirt. I was telling one of the dads what I do and he commented that although he is not proabortion, he feels a woman has the right to one if she`s been raped and or incest is involved. I gave him the statistics related to those circumstances. The incidence of pregnancy is very low and the desire to abort is even lower. We talked about some other things and then I started telling him about the fact that a girl as young as 12 can tell her teacher she doesnt feel well, and the teacher can take that child to Planned Parenthood without the permission of the parent, in California and in other states. He said he didnt believe that was true. I was explaining that it was indeed true. A mom of one of the toddlers was listening and spoke up saying it is actually true and she knew it to b...

 😇😇 Past is Present   😇😇 When I started participating in the pro life mission as an advocate/outreach coordinator the mantra I often heard was “you never know who you reach”. This was intended as an inspiration after many hours of not feeling like we were making a difference because nobody was coming into the building to talk or when someone talked to us and did not choose life. I read stories about people stopping to talk to advocates on the sidewalk and telling them that they had indeed chosen life because of the signs that people were holding or because someone prayed with them or talked to them. They brought their children as proof. I never experienced this. This has now changed. Last week two moms confessed that they had chosen life because of our presence on the sidewalk. One mom told one of our volunteers at the fair booth. The other told a volunteer on the sidewalk that she'd done the same thing. One said it was because someone prayed with them. I find that Go...

  🍼🍼Beacon of Light  🍼🍼 Q . What were you thinking when you first found out your partner was pregnant? A. I was anxious and terrified.  I didn’t think we would be able to afford a child or have the ability to give them the life and opportunities they deserve. Q. Whose idea was it to go to Planned Parenthood?   A. Mine; my partner was very much against it. Q. What were your thoughts as you entered the parking lot? A. I felt a heaviness as we entered the parking lot, questioning if this was the right or fair choice to make. Q. Did our presence and or the signs make an impact on your thought process? A. They impacted my partner very much.  Enough for her to speak with you [Linda] and eventually after some convincing to speak to me as well. Q. What help you turn the corner (from abortion to choosing life)? A. The passion you had, and the availability of other men and mentors who have been in my same position.  The avenues of opportunity your orga...

📱📱 Emergency Power 📱📱 Q . What were you thinking when you first found out your partner was pregnant? A . My first thoughts were a bit scrambled.  Joy, anxiousness, pride, uncertainty.  I was so happy when we found out though, I just knew we would make it work. Q . Whose idea was it to go to Planned Parenthood? A . It was her idea, she wasn’t sure if I was going to rise to the occasion and be able to provide the support and stability her and the baby needed.  Because I knew it was her choice, I maintained a supportive stance while explaining my preference and willingness to commit so she would consider what I had to say instead of just going in out of spite. Q . What were your thoughts as you entered the parking lot? A . That I should have tied her up and not let her go anywhere near the place!  Obviously, that would have done more harm than good for everyone involved but that honestly was what I was thinking. Q . Did our presence and/or the signs make an impac...

 🏆 High Stakes   🏆   It`s a difficult thing to stay motivated in a mission with such high devastating loss stakes. Some of me thinks that I should be able to go out on the sidewalk and talk to anyone and everyone entering planned parenthood for an abortion and show them the support they need to choose life and then they will. Obviously it doesnt work that way. In fact it doesnt happen often. There are reasons big enough to write a separate blog for each. The reasons aren't what I'm addressing today. I'm writing to celebrate a long time ago. Four years ago my former coworker and I met a young couple experiencing a crisis pregnancy. We were new at our mission/jobs. We were learning. We were really learning how strong the natural instinct is for women to carry their babies to term and also how influential their partner can be. This was the case for this couple. Mom wanted to keep the baby. She wanted to do so to the point where she told us just to let the dad stay in ...

👁  The lashes  👁 I don't know if this happens to other people when something traumatic is happening. For me, little details stay with me. Details like the temperature of air or a song playing in the background, I notice what a person is wearing. This time I noticed something unusual. I noticed a young girls false eyelashes. I was talking to her about the abortion she was planning. Her lashes were flickering and barely staying on. I couldn't help thinking how fragile this made her look. I was so sad for her. She was so seemingly young. She was talking about her high school graduation right around the corner . I knew she had no idea how this decision was going to affect the rest of her life. I could see she thought it would clear her slate so that she could pursue her dreams. She made statements about how she had dreams of becoming a teacher. I talked to her about how I see women all the time after they've had an abortion who say it was the worst decision they ever made. I ...

🕊🕊  Peaceful Protesting The beauty of having more people on the sidewalk is that there are more people to collect information and to observe what is going on around the area. This was proven recently when a woman came up to talk to our security guard. She started by asking a few questions and ended with “I see you guys all the time and you are always peaceful and not like some of the other groups that come out on certain days”. She said she liked this approach and was happy we were here.   It has always been our goal, my goal, to send a message of peace and desire to help. We are advocates and prayer warriors. We are not activists. We want to help. We want to share compassion and understanding. We want to open the door to opportunity for women in crisis to gain the resources they need. . I have always felt that it was important to send this message to those in the neighborhood and to passersby. I also want to keep a good relationship with the people who work in the cli...

👀👀 Eye Opener   👀👀 We are a society of people who require proof. We require proof regarding what is in our food. We require proof of purchase. We require proof of service and we require proof, sometimes of paternity. Today I watched a mother to be witness the proof of the truth. I had a chance to talk to a woman coming out of Planned parenthood with proof of pregnancy who wasnt quite sure what she wanted to do. I asked if she`d like to go into the outreach building to talk about her circumstance. She eagerly shook her head. As we wanted the building I turned her attention to the models we have of babies at several stages in the uterus. I showed her what her baby looked like and I watched her eyes open wider as she looked at me for reassurance of the truth.  We had a short conversation about her circumstances and we exchanged phone numbers. I gave her a mommy bag which is a small gift bag with a few things to make a brand new mom feel special and her first gift for her...

 👿 C onflict 😇 We had a terrible day. It was one of terrible sadness and a feeling of helplessness. The situation happened with a couple with a young baby and a baby on the way. The mom didnt think she could handle another baby. The father said he was willing to do whatever was needed to support the family. He`d told her exactly this. Unfortunately the mother to be was already inside the Planned Parenthood facility.  Two of us were talking to the father. While he comforted his baby.He was taking care of his baby and going back and forth into Planned Parenthood to try to get his partner to come out. He went in three times. Our security guard coached him on what to say. He came out each time without her. He continued to talk to her on the phone and this gave me an opportunity to talk to her.  Nothing worked. Twice she told me she'd meet me on the sidewalk. She did not.  At a certain point she told us that she didn't think the staff would let her leave. I responded to...