Living Well...and getting lost?

Living Well

Living well is not only doing good things but doing them well, choosing them in a right way and not simply acting on impulse or emotion. Right choosing involves having a right goal and suitably acting to achieve that goal.

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica

My goal in life is to be pleasing to God - to follow the path that He has laid before me. The tragic death of my son is one of my impetuses to help others live well.

Yesterday, I went to the abortion mill for a prayer vigil. This vigil will continue every Thursday until Planned Deathhood in East Bremerton, Washington, shuts its door. It is on Thursdays that the innocent are mercilessly slaughtered and their mothers and fathers lives changed forever. I asked and received permission to carry my sign, "I Regret my Abortion" from the organizer of the vigil.

While standing outside Planned Deathhood, I noticed a car driving by. It was an older sedan, and there was a very contented dog sitting in the back seat, with its head on the windowsill, looking for all the world that he had the life of Riley. I smiled as I thought about how happy that pup was...no cares in the world, simply enjoying the present moment.

A while later, a car drove onto the wrong side of the street and up onto the pathway that we were standing on. I did not know if the driver was going to hit us, yell at us, or come and give us encouragement.

We stepped back a bit so that the car would be off the road - and the man rolled down his window.

"I admire you" he said

I waited - what was it about me that he admired?

"My mother was all set to have an abortion, she was on the table and she told the abortionist that she wanted her baby, but that her husband, who was downstairs in the car, did not want the baby."

"The abortionist said in reply 'Lady, you will have your baby. Here is your money, five hundred dollars. Put it into your bra and go downstairs and tell that husband of yours that you WILL have this child.'"

I leaned in and gave him a semi hug as he continued...

"I am that child," he remarked, with a twinkle in his eyes, "And I am 71 years old."

His wife sat in the passenger seat, beaming, absolutely beaming.

I sensed that this man, this wonderful LIVING GIFT OF GOD, would not mind if I asked him if I could...

"pinch your cheek"

For all the world, this man was what might have been in my life. His mother went up against her husband and delivered this delightful man as a gift to the world, created in the image and likeness of God.

AND, I got to be the recipent of his mother's generosity, her love for her child and God's love for me, through her determination to have her child, when all odds were against her.

I DID gently pinch this man's cheek.

It was then that I noticed the dog, the life of Riley dog, in the backseat of the car. I told him, "I saw you drive by the other way!" (I get real excited about things like this...can you tell?)

I further told him that we were there every Thursday and they were welcome to join us.

At that point he said "We are from Sequim (northwest of here) and we are lost, trying to find a friend's house."

Lost? I think not - I truly believe that God sent this man ... this man who could so easily have been a statistic way back in 1937 to me as a little "Thank you, Lee - I see you are trying to live well and help others live well."

Thank you Lord for your love and attention to every detail of my life - for sending me this man yesterday. Thank you, Sir, for stopping and being an encouragement in my life for there are times, times when I wonder if what we do in the pro-life movement makes any difference...

Yes, dear readers, yes, we do make a difference, through our witness, all Praise and Glory to God.