At the heart of Love Life are faithful volunteers who show up day after day, praying, offering hope, and being the hands and feet of Jesus to those in desperate need. They do the hard work, often unseen and uncelebrated, yet their obedience is changing and saving lives. We love to honor them by sharing their stories, because they remind us that anyone who says yes to God can step out in obedience and be used mightily by Him.
“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
II Corinthians 12:9
“Jessica,” her Bible Study classmate said, “That struggle with your leg is classic foot drop. You need to see a neurologist.”
Jessica was homeschooling three children, working full time as a flight attendant, and on the sidewalk counseling abortion minded women once a week. But the strange pain, numbness, and difficulty walking were getting worse. For a year and a half, she struggled, trying to do it all despite the disturbing changes. Doctors were unable to determine the cause of her symptoms, until her friend correctly directed her to the neurologist. Jessica was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
For the past several years, Jessica had been on the sidewalk. She was passionately in love with Jesus and had been for almost thirty years. Before knowing the Lord, she had an abortion. When she submitted her life to Him, she knew that she wanted to be the voice of compassion, love, and conviction that she wished had been present when she had stumbled into abortion. There had been no one counseling her otherwise. She was alone in her fear and her sorrow.
“I knew I wanted to do this…but I didn’t know what this looked like. I found out about Love Life and went to a prayer walk. I signed up for the sidewalk outreach training without any idea of what I was going to be doing. I had no idea about anything.”
She began training for Sidewalk Outreach at the Charlotte Planned Parenthood. The proabortion opposition terrified her. The nastiness they spewed at her shocked her. It was all scary and distressing. However, she persevered.
“I just wanted to hug the women and cry with them. I wanted to tell them I know how it feels. I have been there. God loves you. This is just the beginning. You are going to be ok.”
For the next three years, she never got the chance for that discussion. She would call out to the women but never had any meaningful interactions. If an interaction began, the proabortion opposition would bang on drums or use other noise making instruments to drown out her voice.
And then the Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis.
Despite how desperately Jessica wanted to be on the sidewalk, her world came crashing down. She had to quit work, which she had loved. She still served on the sidewalk but found three hours, the typical time slot, to be too much physically for her. She reduced her time on the sidewalk to two hours. She discovered that heat made her symptoms flare, and she would sometimes have to leave even earlier during the hot summer months. She brought a stool so that when her foot went numb, she could sit down. She jumped to her feet as cars pulled in and then returned to her hard stool. She wanted desperately to be of use, but her body betrayed her.
Then in August of this year, Jessica was at her post on the sidewalk with one other teammate. A car drove in and stopped for her. The man driving lowered the window on the passenger side. The woman passenger slumped in her seat, obviously despairing. Jessica had already been on the sidewalk two hours, which was the limit for her endurance since the MS diagnosis. However, she suddenly felt no pain, no fatigue.
“I would love to talk with you,” she said to the woman, “God loves you. This baby is a gift from God. I know you are scared. But there is a God in heaven who wants you to have this baby. I know how it feels. I have been there. God loves you. This is just the beginning. You are going to be okay.”
The woman never looked up. The man was listening. He took the literature Jessica handed him. The couple drove into the parking lot, and over the next two hours, they sat in their car, clearly in deep discussion. Jessica called out to them from the fence at the property line off and on for the next two hours. Her teammate urged her to leave when he did, but she said, “No. I feel fine. I need to be here.”
Two hours later, the man switched seats with the woman, and they drove away. They did not return. The baby was saved. Jessica knew that this amazing gift from God was a bonus… but NOT why she is there on the sidewalk.
“It truly is God doing this. I am weak. I am lazy. I am selfish. I hate waking up early. I hate driving and I live an hour away. I don’t like standing outside on a cement sidewalk for three hours. BUT GOD wakes me up. God gets me there. God tells me why I am there. God loves those babies. I love that I can be a sign they are looking for, a light in the darkness. But for anyone considering doing this, you are there for the Lord, not for your self… I am there for the Lord.”
Jessica’s story is a powerful reminder that the volunteers standing on sidewalks across our nation are truly amazing, not because they are extraordinary, but because they are ordinary people who have simply said yes to God. They are parents, teachers, business owners, retirees, and students who show up in their weakness and let God’s strength work through them. If you feel God stirring your heart to step into this ministry, we invite you to join us. Visit www.lovelife.org/connect to take your first step.