Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Lila Rose, Stephanie Gray, & my mother

Lila Rose is one of my heroes!  On her Facebook page today, she talks briefly about her own conversion to pro-life via a graphic image of an abortion, and links us to a lengthy article by Stephanie Gray that talks about others who have been so converted, complete with video interviews ...

I have my own story about this, far too lengthy for a little comment box, ergo, I thought I would put it on my own blog ...

I was born in 1963.  So I was around ten years old when abortion became legal.  One week, in the back of our Catholic church's literature section (always being a great reader, I stopped there!), there was a brochure, in color, of what abortion exactly did.

I was so horrified that I took this brochure home and taped it to my bedroom window - and my bedroom faced the street ...

Very soon, my mother started getting phone calls from very upset neighbors!  "Steffy, Christ!  I know you're Catholic, but really now!" ...

My parents and I had a big go round about this.  I wanted people to see what they had done.  My parents agreed with me, that it wasn't right and it needed to be known - "but not like this, Jeannee, not like this!"  Eventually, I conceded - what prompted me to untape it from the window was my mother saying that (a) people will find this out without you putting it in the window! and (b) it'll all be outlawed very soon, trust me! once people see pictures like this!

Fast forward to the years after my beloved father died ...

Before his health decline, my father had a conversation with me in which he said he was keeping his will short - he was leaving everything to me and "you know what I support, doll" - so in other words, he wouldn't have to bequeath $ to this and to that ... and I've done that:  veteran's organizations, religious entities ...

I can distinctly see myself (in my mind's eye) sitting in my wicker chair in front of the library table I had in my kitchen in Lexi, reading my Catholic newspaper (no doubt with my usual suspects of a cuppa coffee and), and there was an advertisement for the pro-life billboards I had been privileged to see now and then as I traveled ... "Good people, them," I said out loud (not really talking to myself because I had two dogs in the house ;) ... and as I said that, I was physically seated in my chair but emotionally transported back to that day in my bedroom when I was 10 years old --

I started to pray.  I looked at the entire advertisement, and what I especially wanted to see was this --

How much to purchase an entire billboard???

Where I sit, I have what I call my supplies, and what most of the world would call stationary:  envelopes, pens, paper ... I wrote a letter to this organization, recalling what had happened in my childhood bedroom, and I said (paraphrasing) essentially that since it hadn't been outlawed, and since my beloved dad had told me to support organizations he would have supported were he still alive - well - this was even bigger than my bedroom window had been!  And then I hunted for my checkbook, and I stuck it all in, taping the envelope closed and putting stamps on it (more supplies :) ) and then walked it over to the little table by the door (I always try to have some little something by the door to hold outgoing mail) --

I received a call from the director of the organization.  WOW!  She was blessed and touched by my letter and my donation, and she wanted to call me personally!

But you know what???

I took that call for my parents ... and for the children that are murdered and lost ... and only after all of that, I took it for one disabled woman in a housecoat, who found that even like that, she can make a difference in this sad old world.

1 comment:

  1. what a great story jeannee, you were so strong, so sure at such a young age.....i really admire that. obviously lot's of people saw and read your message!! good for you, each of us can make a difference!!

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