Thomas Garrett's Legacy: A Modern Day Abolition Issue

Good day, readers! I'm posting the following article which I completed this past February, and updated today in light of new legislative developments. I ask that if the Lord leads, you share it in whatever venue seems right to you. And please consider contacting lawmakers and apprising them of your views on the issues discussed herein.

One small disclaimer: apologies for the variations in font and format, which I suppose are the result of cutting and pasting articles and links into the body of the text. I tried various means of correcting this, to no avail. In the end I decided to let the piece stand or fall on its own merits and research, and trust readers to overlook this minor flaw.

I was especially stunned to learn of the House panel's investigation into Planned Parenthood, and their surprising findings.

I pray many will find the piece worthy of sharing.

Thomas Garrett’s Legacy: A Modern Day Abolition Issue

Subversive Hero

Thomas Garrett helped an estimated 2,700 slaves find freedom via the Underground Railroad when the scourge of slavery marred our land of the free and home of the brave.

Garrett began these “subversive” activities while residing in Pennsylvania, a free state, but remained committed to his illegal operations after relocating to Delaware, a state which had codified into law the enslavement of humans.

Garrett paid a steep price for his involvement. He was attacked in the press, tried in court, and found guilty by none other than then Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, whose later rendering of the deplorable Dred Scott decision was one of the final straws that propelled the United States into civil war.¹ Garrett’s legal costs, fees to the tune of $5,400 (a king’s ransom, even for a prosperous iron merchant like Garrett), and being forced to neglect his business to attend to his legal troubles, left him penniless.

But the grace of God through sympathetic friends enabled him to rebuild his shattered life, and ultimately African Americans, for whom he sacrificed his own wellbeing, dubbed him “Our Moses” and carried his body to its final resting place.²

A fitting end to a life finely lived.

Prayer Vigil

Recently, I had the privilege of attending a prayer vigil on a street which bears Garrett’s name. Amnion Pregnancy Center on Garrett Road in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania serves the community and country in ways which would make the former Delaware County native proud. I learned from Amnion’s Executive Director Melanie Parks and Board Vice President Louann Rodgers that Amnion operates on only $325,000 per year, none of which comes from federal or state government. This small agency stretches every dollar to counsel expectant mothers, outfit and diaper babies, and dispense ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, prenatal vitamins, and parenting coaching. They hope in the future to add STI testing and treatment to their list of services.  

In addition, Amnion offers adoption and housing referrals, and links low-income clients to physicians that serve the uninsured and underinsured, as well as to community resources like WIC.³

Not least, Amnion feels a responsibility to serve women who have had abortions. Roughly one in five women in the United States is post-abortive.⁴  The Amnion chapter of “Surrendering the Secret” offers group support and counseling⁵ to deal with the guilt and shame that many report as aftereffects of the procedure.⁶

The cost for all these services?

$0.00.

That’s right. Amnion and other agencies like it, such as AlphaCare (whose annual budget is $586,000 according to Executive Director Karen Hess⁷⁾ and Delaware County Pregnancy Center (which ekes by on $135,000 per year, per interim Executive Director Helen McBlain⁸), charge nothing for their assistance. Zero. Zip. Nada. Relying on fundraising and donations, these agencies build bricks with virtually no straw on a regular basis. While some pregnancy centers receive state funds⁹, others, such as the aforementioned three, receive not one penny of government funding. Nor do they want any. As Hess explains, “No government funds ever. So we can keep sharing the Gospel.”¹⁰

Make no mistake: pregnancy centers have an agenda, and they’re not trying to hide it. They make no bones about their huge concern for unborn children, and that concern extends to the spiritual welfare of prospective parents who walk through their doors. While taking care not to thrust a religious world view on their clients, if and when the opportunity arises to offer spiritual hope, these agencies would sooner do without government grants than risk being beholden to its whims and shots-calling.

Another Vigil

As I pondered all this information, my mind flashed back to another Saturday vigil I used to attend. This one took place in front of a Planned Parenthood clinic located in Media, Pennsylvania. My friend and I used to pray regularly with a group of like-minded individuals outside this branch of the organization that performs more abortions than any other health care provider in the United States.¹¹ The Media office does not itself offer abortions, but regularly refers clients to practitioners who do.¹²

I began to wonder about Planned Parenthood’s budget in comparison with the small purses of the pregnancy centers I’d been interviewing. Shockingly, this massive body rakes in almost four billion dollars a year¹³, which it doles out to approximately 650 clinics in the U.S.¹⁴ This works out to about $6 million per clinic per year, nearly half of which it receives from United States taxpayers.¹⁵

One might well wonder what Planned Parenthood does with all this cash, considering it happily accepts payments from insurance companies, Medicaid, and individuals, as well as enjoying non-profit tax exempt status.¹⁶ While there’s no denying that Planned Parenthood performs a variety of cancer screenings – not including mammograms, despite claims to the contrary by certain notable figures – and a hefty percentage of STI tests and treatments, their most recent annual report also reveals that they perform 324,000 abortions per year, which constitutes almost 50% of abortions done annually in this country (30).¹⁷  

Boasting of “foster[ing] the sexual and reproductive health and rights of individuals, families, and communities,” Planned Parenthood’s website also contains an “Info for Teens” page which offers everything from advice about sexual orientation/gender experimentation to glib videos about masturbation and precum.¹⁸ What they do not do with Uncle Sam’s tax exempt dollars is deliver virtually anything in the way of prenatal care; in fiscal year 2015, this champion of reproductive rights reported less than 0.2% of its business coming under this category.¹⁹ Adoption referrals made up an even tinier fraction of services rendered by this “family planning” giant – .02% .²⁰

So when my friends and I prayed in front of their offices, we prayed for parents-to-be who made their way into that facility looking for help, and for preborn children who couldn’t speak for themselves. We prayed also for young people, whose world views are still up for grabs. We knew the counseling they would receive inside those doors would focus on contraception (women ages 15 to 24 account for nearly half of contraceptive usage in this country²¹); prevention and treatment of STIs, half of which occurs among that same population²²; and pregnancy termination, 12% of which occurs among teens.²³

Ultrasound Usage­­­

Expectant moms who step across Amnion’s threshold are offered the opportunity to glimpse their developing children on an ultrasound screen. This is an unapologetic effort to allow mothers to see their developing children prior to deciding their fates. Many pregnancy centers have found that this simple step allows clients to make a more informed decision as to whether the tissue they’re carrying is a “bundle of joy” or merely a “product of conception.”

On the other hand, not all abortionists use sonography. Some physicians go into the birth canal blindly, without consulting sonograms to illuminate their path. Those who do employ the technology do so to guide cannulas which locate the fetus prior to tearing it limb from limb, or to inject lethal doses of digoxin or other death-inducing drugs into fetal hearts. Ultrasound, if used at all in Planned Parenthood clinics, is utilized primarily for one of two purposes: either to assess fetal age to determine abortion cost – the older the fetus, the higher the fee²⁴ – or to guide a probe/clamp to dismember the fetus inside its mother’s womb, then crush its skull to facilitate exit through the birth canal.²⁵

 Either way, their mission is the same: search and destroy.

The Other Side of the Discussion

Attacks have been leveled at pregnancy centers by such auspicious publications as Time Magazine and Cosmopolitan, claiming misleading advertising and one-sided agendas. Any organization stands to benefit from constructive criticism, self-examination and reshaping, and pregnancy centers are no exception. Judging from the websites encountered in the research for this article, it would appear the Fourth Estate has caused pregnancy centers to clarify their mission and objectives so as to ward off any misunderstandings right out of the gate.

Interestingly, though, the aforementioned periodicals haven’t seen fit to denounce any of Planned Parenthood’s peccadillos like, oh, say, sale of fetal body parts, overbilling of insurance companies, dubious consent forms, disregard for HIPPA regulations, and violation of the Hyde Amendment which bars them from underwriting abortions with federal funds. Rather, both magazines robustly defended the abortion giant; Cosmopolitan went so far as to give the cat bird seat to Planned Parenthood’s President, Cecile Richards, by running her op ed, in which this leader and spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood reveals the organization’s “liberated” philosophy:

Women's ability to realize their goals requires them to have control of their fertility. If we want women to have fulfilling careers and economic stability, we have to give them full access to the full range of reproductive health care, including abortion.

Above and beyond any practical, economic reasons to respect the right of women to control their own reproductive system, abortion rights are a matter of autonomy and equality.

Condoms break. Birth control pills are not infallible. Intrauterine devices and implants, even, have failure rates, miniscule as they may be. When these things happen, women have to make a whole host of decisions. No member of Congress should interfere.

Women deserve healthy, fulfilling, positive sex (no matter how many times misogynists say it, "keep your legs closed" will never be a valid argument). And they deserve access to reproductive health care and information to make the best choices about sex.²⁶

Government Conclusions

Despite Richards’ noble motives and the accolades and apologist efforts of her media friends, the federal government did not shy away from objectively considering the troubling questions raised by the release of 11 videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s unlawful trafficking in fetal parts and other unethical activities. In 2016 the House of Representatives released its 427 page Final Report by the Select Investigative Panel of the Energy and Commerce Committee, validating all the aforementioned allegations.²⁷

The panel included in its report the following further observations about Planned Parenthood and quotations from its founder, Margaret Sanger:

       Planned Parenthood executives who spoke with the Panel noted that 2016 is the 100th

       anniversary of [its] founding … A closer look at the history of the organization,  however,  

       leaves little to celebrate. [It] was founded by eugenicists who believed in limiting the rights

       of people to form families and have children if they had mental or physical disabilities or

       were of the “wrong” race (xxxvi).

Among the founders … were a group of eugenicists, including … Margaret Sanger, who sought to reduce and control population growth, including among the African American community. Sanger saw the eugenics movement as a chance to rid civilization of “racial, political and social problems… Our civilization has bred, is breeding and is perpetuating constantly increasing numbers of defectives, delinquents and dependent.”  

She calls those with mental disabilities a “dead weight of human waste” and a “burden of

unthinking and indiscriminate fecundity.”

Sanger wrote that “negroes present the great problem of the South …” (299-300).

Final Considerations

In light of the facts revealed by the House panel and its unabashed disdain for Planned Parenthood’s practices and philosophies, one might wonder why taxpayers are still supporting the organization. No one is disputing that Planned Parenthood serves women and families in numerous ways that pregnancy centers do not and cannot because of their largely unsubsidized budgets. What is up for debate is whether the former’s activities ought to be bankrolled by the federal government. The real question is, is it right for a country founded on “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” to embrace one of those objectives at the expense of the other two?

As we progress through our 45^th year in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade – 59 million abortions and counting²⁸– the action required of the new administration and Congress is clear: defund Planned Parenthood. The House of Representatives took a major step in this direction this past week by approving the American Health Care Act, which will withhold Medicaid payments from Planned Parenthood for a year unless it stops providing abortions.²⁹ Now it falls to the Senate to continue the job its legislative counterpart has started. Concerned citizens can find contact information for their senators at https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm, to apprise lawmakers of their views on the bill.

Abortion has been rightly called the slavery issue of our time. Countless African American lives were lost due to the institution of slavery, but among those who survived and managed to thrive in the midst of this national disgrace were the likes of Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Booker T. Washington. How much more genius was left unrealized in the name of slaveholders’ rights and servitude to cotton and tobacco we will never know this side of heaven. Likewise, how many scientific pioneers, politicians, and great artists’ lives (Andrea Bocelli tells a poignant story of how his mother refused physician’s counsel to abort him³⁰) have we snuffed out in the name of women’s rights and convenience?

Thomas Garrett saw through his generation’s national lie a century and a half ago, and history has proven his convictions right. He didn’t pretend to have all the answers as to how to integrate masses of uneducated victims into an unwelcoming society. Lincoln himself surely couldn’t have dreamed when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation how many decades would go by before equality would become less a byword than a reality. After years of hacking away at unfair laws and institutionalized racism, our country is still paying the price for dehumanizing an entire segment of the population. What was clear to abolitionists was that every life they spared gave the recipient an opportunity to bestow on society the gifts that person was born with. That hope was reason enough for their crusade, and an end in itself.

Likewise, this author doesn’t purport to have solutions to the child abuse crisis or the glutted foster care system that many raise as justification for abortion. Logic would seem to dictate that we make adoption as affordable and simple to obtain as abortion. That we return to the moral codes that used to bind us as a nation, with or without Scriptural underpinnings, which in theory would make organizations like Child Protective Services less needed in the first place. That we start rewarding the commitment of stay at home parents with tax dollars – perhaps the same tax dollars we pull from the abortion industry.

One way or the other, we will answer for all the unborn blood we’re spilling, just as we continue to reap the repercussions of slavery. The question is, will future generations view ours as being on the right side of history – or the convenient side?

Endnotes

¹“Roger B. Taney: Chief Justice of the United States,” https://www.britannica.com/biography/Roger-B-Taney. Accessed February 4, 2017.

² “Thomas Garrett,” http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/social-sciences-and-law/social-reformers/thomas-garrett. Accessed February 4, 2017.

³Melanie Parks and Louann Rodgers. Email interview. 23 January 2017.

⁴“Induced Abortion in the United States,” https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/induced-abortion-united-states. Accessed February 4, 2017.

⁵“Surrendering the Secret: Heal the Heartbreak,” http://surrenderingthesecret.com/. Accessed February 4, 2017.

⁶Abolghasem Pourreza, PhD and Aziz Batebi, MD, “Psychological Consequences of Abortion among the Post Abortion Care Seeking Women in Tehran,” American Journal of Psychiatry, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3395931/. Accessed February 4, 2017.

⁷Karen Hess. Personal interview. 11 November 2015.

⁸ Helen McBlain. Email interview. 25 January 2017.

⁹Jennifer Ludden, “States Fund Pregnancy Centers That Discourage Abortion,” Shots: Health News from NPR, http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/03/09/391877614/states-fund-pregnancy-centers-that-discourage-abortion. Accessed February 4, 2017.

¹⁰ Hess. Email interview. 22 January 2017.

¹¹Julie Rovner, “That Vow to Defund Planned Parenthood: Easy to Say, Hard to Do,” Shots: Health News from NPR, http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/01/15/509662288/that-vow-to-defund-planned-parenthood-easy-to-say-hard-to-do. Accessed February 5, 2017.

¹² “Media Health Center – Media, PA: Abortion Referral in Media – Planned Parenthood,”  https://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-center/pennsylvania/media/19063/media-health-center-2338-91460/abortion-referral. Accessed February 5, 2017.

^{13 “}Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. and Related Entities Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Information June 30, 2015 and 2014,” Planned Parenthood,

https://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/4514/5132/1803/FY15_PlannedParenthoodFederation_FS_Final.pdf, 3. Accessed February 5, 2017.

¹⁴“Planned Parenthood at a Glance,” https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/planned-parenthood-at-a-glance. Accessed February 5, 2017.

¹⁵ “2014-2015 Annual Report,” Planned Parenthood, https://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/2114/5089/0863/2014-2015_PPFA_Annual_Report_.pdf, 32. Accessed February 4, 2017.

¹⁶ “Information for Attorneys and Other Professionals,” https://www.plannedparenthood.planyourlegacy.org/attorney.php. Accessed February 21, 2017.

¹⁷ “Reproductive Health: CDC’s Abortion Surveillance System FAQs,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/data_stats/abortion.htm. Accessed January 25, 2017.

¹⁸ “Info for Teens,”  https://www.plannedparenthood.org/teens. Accessed January 25, 2017.

¹⁹ 2014-2015 Annual Report, 29.

²⁰ Ibid.        

     

²¹ “National Center for Health Statistics: Current Contraceptive Status Among Women Aged 15-44: United States, 2011-2013,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db173.htm. Accessed February 4, 2017.

²²“Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs),” https://www.cdc.gov/std/default.htm. Accessed January 25, 2017.

²³ https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/induced-abortion-united-states. Accessed February 4, 2017.

²⁴“In Clinic Abortion Procedures,” https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/abortion/in-clinic-abortion-procedures. Accessed January 25, 2017.

²⁵Dr. Anthony Levatino, “Abortion Procedures: What You Need to Know,” http://abortionprocedures.com/#1466802057205-34297158-57fd. Accessed January 21, 2017.

²⁶ Cecile Richards, “The Effort to Defund Planned Parenthood Isn’t Actually About Fetal Tissue Donation,” Cosmopolitan, October 9, 2015, http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a47520/cecile-richards-planned-parenthood-fetal-tissue-abortion/. Accessed February 23, 2017.

^{27 “}U.S. House of Representatives Final Report,” Select Investigative Committee of the Energy & Commerce Committee, December 30, 2016. https://energycommerce.house.gov/sites/republicans.energycommerce.house.gov/files/114/Analysis/20161230Select_Panel_Final_Report.pdf. Accessed February 12, 2017.

Relevant excerpts from the House panel’s report:

 “First, the clinics have a checkered history of overbilling Medicaid and of improperly billing items to cover the costs of abortion services, in violation of the Hyde Amendment.

“Second, the clinics did not follow PPFA guidance about compliance with federal criminal statutes that govern the terms of fetal tissue donation. Accounting documents from middleman tissue organizations showed that several PPFA affiliates made a profit from the transfer of fetal tissue.

“Third, PPFA failed to secure compliance with the requirement that doctors who perform abortions certify in writing that the method of abortion has not been changed to facilitate fetal tissue donation. The PPFA executive in charge of this requirement admitted that she regularly changed the method of abortion to facilitate intact fetal specimens …

“Fourth, PPFA guidance on patient consent and the affiliate practice violates federal consent regulations.

“Fifth, the affiliate clinics routinely violated HIPAA privacy regulations to facilitate the harvesting of fetal tissue for which the clinics were paid on a per specimen basis” (309).

“The Panel found a significant history of flawed and unlawful management of federal funds … through audits performed by the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and by state-level family planning agencies. Of particular concern is the clinics’ false designation of abortion services as family planning services. This practice misallocates federal funds designated for family planning to underwriting abortion procedures … (310).

“First, local affiliates regularly and with little accountability substitute billing codes for approved reimbursements for prohibited activities that violate the prohibition against use of federal funds for abortion services. Second, the affiliates operate with disregard of accepted accounting procedures. Third, the local affiliates that seek to increase Medicaid payment through false billing practices also require close scrutiny about compliance with federal law on receiving valuable consideration for the transfer of fetal tissue” (319).

“The CMP undercover videos revealed a ‘wink and a nod’ attitude by PPFA executives who seemed to communicate that fetal tissue programs help with revenue but don’t get caught because the headlines would be a disaster” (322).

²⁸“Abortion Statistics: United States Data and Trends,” National Right to Life: Protecting Life in America Since 1968, http://www.nrlc.org/uploads/factsheets/FS01AbortionintheUS.pdf, 1. Accessed February 5, 2017.

²⁹Sandhya Somashekhar and Paige W. Cunningham, “Congressional Health-Care Bill ‘Defunds’ Planned Parenthood,” The Washington Times, May 4, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/congressional-health-care-bill-defunds-planned-parenthood/2017/05/04/afdc3b5a-30f1-11e7-8674-437ddb6e813e_story.html?utm_term=.1f4414b32d5f. Accessed May 6, 2017.

³⁰ “Andrea Bocelli on Abortion – A Story that Touches Hearts,” YouTube video, 2:27, posted by Pietro Schito, June 1, 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QfKCGTfn3o. Accessed February 21, 2017.

Out of the Comfort Zone, Into the Conference (AKA, Deliverance 3)

With apologies (and explanation) to my patient readers, to whom I haven't written since January 1, I offer the following:

The Conference

“This is gonna make a great blog article,” I told my friend Mary by way of apology, after keeping her waiting for the second time the morning we were both set to pitch manuscripts to agents at The Philadelphia Writing Workshop. The first offense was when I took too long in the shower and found her patiently playing with her phone as I combed the tangles out of my hair. The second infraction was when I couldn't locate my car in the motel parking garage (panic button notwithstanding) and had to beg the attendant to help me cruise the lot to find my misplaced vehicle. After a harrowing 20 minutes, I emerged from the depths to find Mary had given up waiting at our designated meeting spot and enlisted a motel attendant to help locate her MIA friend.

Mary and I had taken a room together the night before to avoid doing the last-minute rush thing into the city. A darn good idea, too, as I had more than a little agita just getting into Rittenhouse Square Friday night. I’m not a city girl – never have been – and after my thrill-laced adventure into town, I’m convinced, never will be. Combining two and a half hours of rush hour traffic, pedestrian peccadillos, detours, and GPS systems that disregard one-way streets, let's just say the trip was torturous. 

But I'm starting at the end. In the words of Good Witch Glinda, “It’s always best to begin at the beginning,” so, without further ado…

The Idea

Mary Dolan Flaherty emailed me a “Rah Rah, Let’s Write!” article several months ago, after the two of us had engaged in a complaint fest about the pitfalls most writers encounter while honing their craft. At the bottom of the piece was a link to the aforementioned conference, which we both decided to attend. Hence, the room and giggle sharing Friday night.

Alas, if I thought writing had roadblocks, I quickly determined that preparing for a conference to pitch one’s writing signals the starting gun for the mother of all roadblocks.

The Washer

Taking it chronologically, the delays started with the breakdown of my washing machine shortly after New Years. My son beckoned me urgently one evening after starting up said machine, explaining the thing had harrumphed, danced a few inches across the basement floor, then unceremoniously shut off. This necessitated several calls to the manufacturer to troubleshoot and verify what I already knew – the warranty had expired – but they thought they could fix it. Three hundred plus dollars and a missed day of work later, the deed was done, and Mom’s Laundromat was back in business.

The Computer

Next, my computer started misbehaving. You know the drill – sluggishness, refusal to summon the Internet (I think the newest protocol insists we not capitalize the “i” in that all-important, can’t-live-with-it, can’t-live-without-it technological wonder), etc., etc., etc. Don’t get me wrong: the device was upwards of ten years old, had patiently accepted the keying in of three manuscript overhauls –
in short, didn’t owe me anything. But why now!

Despite my objections, and not a few consults and troubleshooting visits from my long-suffering, computer savvy friend, Eileen, the diagnosis proved fatal, necessitating research, complaining, shopping trips, more complaining, and finally, a brand-spanking-new computer. I bragged proudly to Eileen after successfully transferring all my files from the old machine onto an external hard drive, which took a couple of hours away from my writing endeavors, but all to the good, right? Wrong. Turned out the external drive had gone the way of the old computer, and none of my files was retrievable. Cue Eileen, who made yet another emergency trip to my doorstep, only to deliver the unwelcome news that a second file transfer was in order. I grumbled my way through, but at last witnessed the lights of glory in the form of a usable new computer with usable, stored files. Only problem was a new operating system that demanded I learn its machinations before getting any appreciable work done.

The Water Heater… and the Flu

In the midst of all this frolicking, my water heater decided to malfunction. Delightful, hot showers began to wax frigid in the middle of my second chorus of “Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch” – all this in the middle of winter. What to do? The plumber – who had already dropped by to tighten a loose radiator valve (I believe “phlange” is the actual term he spouted after taking two minutes to fix a problem that cost me a whole day of work) – declared a new appliance was probably in order.

All was set for February 20, a holiday from school so I wouldn’t have to inconvenience my employer yet again – but the best laid plans… Nobody told my lungs I had an appointment that day, so instead of welcoming the plumber, I greeted a bad case of flu, which landed me in the emergency room secondary to breathing problems. My bed and I became besties that week, during which time tissues and inhalers got up close and personal with my airways.

Oh, and the water heater installation? Rescheduled, of course.

The Festive and the Not So Festive

The month of March arrived and, with it, new resolve on my part to hunker down with writing and conference prep. There were, however, two or twenty items yet on my to-do list, not least, the birthday celebrations of both my sons and newly adopted, “labor-less daughter” Elise – all within a week of each other! Happy diversions, to be sure, bookended between less pleasant plot twists like satisfying Uncle Sam’s yearly demand for tax computation, completing school financial aid forms, and tending to a nuisance insurance claim. ¡Ay caramba!

I persevered, promising myself that productivity lay just around the corner. What I hadn’t figured on, though, was a ramp up of work stress, including but not limited to an after-school assignment that went from 45 minutes one day a week to three hour sessions three days a week.

Can you see, neglected readers, why I haven't blogged since the first of the year?

The Deliverance

Somewhere amidst all these amusements, the story of Gideon leapt to mind. 

Gideon, the unlikely war hero, whom kept God waiting while he attempted to verify almighty instructions. Gideon, who carried out divine directions under cover of darkness, lest he receive repercussions from flesh and blood, only to find his covert action was anything but. Gideon, who gathered his nerve while enemies gathered around him.

Gideon, who subjected Omnipotence to terrestrial tests. Gideon, whose army God whittled down to 300 trembling men, to whom He assigned the unenviable task of opposing the mighty Midianites and their Amalekite allies.

Gideon, whose woefully inadequate army God likened to a banal loaf of bread. Gideon, who carried off the bluff of the century with trumpets and torches, resulting in the overthrow of aforementioned enemies.

Gideon, whose victory with ragtag resources gave this author hope of success despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

The Outcome

Turned out many of the setbacks I experienced over this past season were actually gifts. Waiting for repairmen and for illness to subside afforded huge blocks of largely uninterrupted time. Time to tweak my manuscript and assemble materials for agent review (never mind that none of said materials ended up being examined by said agents). In addition, I found I work better under pressure than I once thought, managing to pack three months of preparation into three weekends. 

The surprise ending? I didn't hate the process! Rather, I found myself enjoying my characters and story arc, reveling in newfound enthusiasm in the midst of a third rewrite! 

The best part? Two of the three agents I pitched requested a book synopsis and sample chapters! 

Deliverance. Seemed Easter was a fitting day to expound on that theme.

[Jesus] said, "The things which are impossible with men 

are possible with God!" Luke 18:27

For more like this, check out: Reflections by Thea: Deliverance

Reflections by Thea: Deliverance Part 2, AKA, Jurassic Park Revisited

Reflections by Thea: God Rather Than Men

Undeserved

"Earn this!" Tom Hanks's character urges Private Ryan, for whom others have given their lives in the eponymous 1998 film. 

But Private Ryan can't earn something he doesn't deserve, any more than my friend, Georg, can earn the gift he received from a drug that was supposed to make him more comfortable while dying, but had the unintended effect of eradicating the cancer that was killing him. 

Neither can I earn the kindness shown me by a stranger on New Years Eve 2016.

When I felt my car scrape his, I knew I was in trouble.

It was dark. I had made a u-turn after missing my friend's street and cautiously (I thought) edged back onto the road, this time going in the right direction.

I hadn't seen his vehicle before it happened, and I didn't see it then. Maybe the car came out of nowhere or, for all I know, he was parked on the opposite side of the street and I swung too wide and clipped him. I didn't know if I'd bumped the car of a man or woman, a wealthy business tycoon or a little old lady from Pasadena.

What I do know is what happened next. I pleaded, "Lord, let him be merciful!" before exiting my Mazda. I held my breath and blurted out, "I'm so sorry! I just didn't see you!"

His face was friendly – what I could see of it. It belonged to a tall man wearing denim (I think). He was Social Security age and driving an oversized pickup truck. His words will be indelibly etched on my mind.

There were no recriminations, no four-letter words, not even a mild reprimand or suggestion that I visit my optometrist. Any of these would have been well deserved, in order, and a reasonable prelude to demanding my insurance information and a police report.

What came out instead was simply, "I'm OK. Are you OK?"

Was I ever OK!

"I'm fine," I replied in disbelief, then inquired tentatively about the health of his truck.

He barely glanced at it, declared it first-rate, and threw his arm around my shoulders.

"Are you sure?" I pressed, wanting to show enough concern that he wouldn't change his mind and call for a cop. He just laughed and prepared to exit the scene. I asked him to wait, wanting to offer something to this gracious stranger who was letting me off the hook with nary a scolding.

I fished around in my front seat for a tract to share with this dear man, something to tell him about a long ago Traveler who also traded compassion for justice. I came up empty handed, so settled for thrusting a king sized Payday candy bar into his calloused palm. The irony of the name of the confection I’d just bought didn’t hit me till later.

The Traveler he reminded me of had calloused hands too, from long hours spent in a carpenter's shop. Those well-used hands would one day accept nails that were meant for me.

"What's your name?" I asked, adding, "I want to pray for you."

"Paul," he replied, then chuckled, "Somebody ought to!"

I guess I was pretty rattled (and amazed) by the whole incident, because it took me five minutes to locate my keys (I was sitting on them). Paul's headlights illuminated my car while I searched for them. Indeed, his truck remained parked behind mine until I at last pulled away, feeling inadequate and special all at the same time.

Paul never once hurried me, but he did bellow, "Happy New Year!" before driving off into the remaining hours of 2016.

I viewed my car later, and it may have one or two new scratches on the passenger side, but nothing to speak of. Paul's pickup was larger and heavier than my ride, so I imagine it got away unscathed as well. Still, in this world of groping greed and Looking Out for Number One, his selflessness stands out like a lighthouse.

Like Ryan and Georg, I'm just going to have to pay it forward.

Check out "Grace Wins" by Matthew West!

Thea, Thea

“Are You kidding me, Lord?”

The words form in my head before I can edit them. Even in the midst of holiday hoopla, I know I’m conversing with omnipotence; there’s a certain decorum to such encounters. I smile, realizing I'm also communing with omniscience. Why sweat it? 

This is, after all, Christmas Eve, and I know the Almighty realizes it's a hugely busy day for those He came to die for.

I’ve already obeyed Him several times this morning. I woke early, then spent quality time with Him and a few dear friends He laid on my heart. Isn't it about time to get to my chores?

“No, you heard me right, Thea,” He whispers back. “You can choose to ignore Me … but is that really how you want to commemorate My birth?”

I reluctantly seat myself at the keyboard, shooing away fragments of to do lists that are cluttering my brain. The food and presents will have to wait.

The reason I must sit down and write is because the message He’s giving me really concerns all the mania of this time of year. I’ve been mentally checked out most of the week at work (I’ve come to refer to this phenomenon as “Christmas brain”). Task piles upon task as I strive to “get Christmas right,” and I almost resent having to show up at the place that not only represents my livelihood, but also a strong sense of purpose for my existence.

More thoughts arrive unbidden.

“You’ve got another hour, Lord. Then Elise and Aaron arrive, then her father, and he's never been to the house before, and the bathroom's not clean yet, and then we go to Anita’s, and then … “

Breathe.

I had a divine encounter at the super market yesterday. I met up with my son and daughter-in-law to grab the cholesterol and sugar, er, ingredients, needed for today’s festivities. It was the most peace I’ve had all week. Despite the crowds and shortage of parking (we had three vehicles between us), my heart surged with joy to be sharing such madness with two of the dearest people on earth to me. We divvied up the list and finished in short order. I told them I enjoyed every moment of our trip, and I meant it.

I’m ashamed to admit, though, one thing marred my happiness. While scrambling to hunt down my share of the goodies, I bumped into a friend. I haven’t known her long, but there’s a certain depth to our acquaintance that comes from shared struggles. She had been a frequent texting correspondent some months ago, but had fallen off the radar of late and not responded when I contacted her. That’s never a good sign.

She followed along as I shuffled through the peanut butter aisle. At first we chatted about trivialities, but all of a sudden she shared something from the heart. I’m an experienced selective listener (most multi-taskers are), but the down side of only paying partial attention is you can miss important tidbits when you’re in deep speculation about weighty matters like which jar of honey has the best unit price.

I did a mental double take, forced my gaze away from the food fest that had been consuming my attention, and looked her in the eye.

In all honesty, I really didn’t have time for an in-depth conversation in that setting and with that company. BUT it behooved me to MAKE time to share my love and concern for her wellbeing, and to let her know I was praying for her. That was all I had to give in that instant, and it had to be enough.

A young boy once had a small lunch which he was asked to share with a great multitude. It wasn’t nearly enough, of course – a couple of fish and a paltry amount of bread. Still, what he had he shared willingly, and at day’s end, thousands left satisfied.

Do I dare offer any less?

The phone rings as I type that last sentence. When my son's number appears on caller ID, I know it means he and his wife are on their way and my time to write is slipping away. 

And I haven't wrapped one present yet.

I think of a long ago party such as the one I'm helping to host today. An important Guest was expected, one who had never graced that home before and maybe never would again. When the Visitor arrived, one hostess served with gusto, growing more and more resentful of her sister, who chose instead to soak in the presence of their prestigious company. It’s worth examining Luke 10:38-42, where Jesus rebukes Martha, the complainer, and commends Mary, the listener:

“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.’

 And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.’”

Check out Jonny Diaz's "Just Breathe"                    

Grinch Pinch

In this season of peace on earth and good will towards men, many joyfully lay down resentments and take hold of compassion. There’s just something about the lights and carols and festivities that beckon us to reach out to others and share the joy.

Why, then, am I in the grip of the Grinch?

We all know this guy. He’s the legendary scoundrel who tried to steal Christmas from the unsuspecting Whos Down in Whoville by cooking up an elaborate scheme to abscond with their Christmas goodies. He found out in the end,
though, that he couldn’t spirit away their Christmas spirit.

Would that I were a Who.

I’m not going to delve into particulars because I don’t think I’m unique in the slightest. See, behind the lights and carols and festivities lie labor and cash and family stuff, any of which can squeeze joy out of the well-intentioned faster than December 25^th turns into December 26^th.  I have my baggage, you have yours, but the bottom line is we all have the “I” word: issues. Just because the calendar flips to December doesn’t mean those issues are laid to rest; on the contrary, they’re often exacerbated by the very season we celebrate.

What to do?

The only means I know of to combat the Grinch Pinch is the one that inspired a young, unmarried woman to welcome a pregnancy that could ruin her societally. It’s the same guidance that caused her fiancé to stay the course with his betrothed and spurn voices that would label him a cuckold and a fool. It’s the same force that led an unnamed number of stargazers, AKA, wise men, to travel well over two thousand miles round trip to worship a divine baby.

It’s a little thing called the Incarnation, which in simple terms means God laid aside His royalty and became a peon for 30 or so years. He put His immortal nature on hold temporarily and took up humanity, ultimately dying a sinner’s death in our stead. He asks only that we accept His sacrifice into our hearts, not just our heads, and try to pattern our lives after His.

A good start to sending the Grinch packing.

Miracle Child

My friend is very concerned about a family member, whose actions have resulted in the breakup of a marriage and the lives of several school aged children being turned upside down. I pray for this household when I remember, but recently something occurred to bring the whole matter much closer to my heart.

I was visiting my friend’s new baby, whose little body was sweetly wrapped in handmade clothing – gifts, I learned, from the family member who went astray. Before giving way to temptation and sin, this person had lovingly crafted the items for a not-yet-born niece or nephew.

Somehow, seeing these tiny wearables made the situation more real for me. Before, it had been someone else’s problem, someone else’s “family secret,” about which I was concerned from a polite distance. But here lay a child, wearing evidence of the love in this troubled person’s heart for an unknown infant, before darker impulses took over.

It brought me to my knees.

It also brought to mind the following verse, which more or less includes every misdeed of which mankind is capable. Some are explicitly stated; others, included by extension, for what offense isn’t motivated by desire and envy when you get right down to it?

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals. nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”  ~   1 Corinthians 6:9-11

I intend to stamp the image of those grace-filled garments onto my brain, as a reminder to pray for both wearer and bearer.

The following song by the Newsboys is my prayer for this misguided soul:

Miracle Child

For more like this, check out: Between

A God Thing

It's a God thing. It really is.

Yesterday I felt about as dreamless as a writer can get. Technology problems, time constraints, and the old rejection monster keep knocking at my door. Writing contests beckon as a way to pad my resumé, but most cost money; which ones are legitimate and most worthy of the time and expense to enter?  Funny how quickly I get mired in discouragement, despite baby step victories. This past month, I had a couple of pieces published in magazines, one more thing to add to my list of credits.

"Yeah, but..." my mind goes, and ticks off a list of vetoes and unanswered queries from agents and publishers.

I seek advice from wise counselors and others in the profession, and their suggestions don't delight me. I don’t want to take courses to rub shoulders with someone who might know someone who might help me. I don’t want to self-publish, have never felt led to do so. Agent-less though I am, can’t the literary world recognize greatness when it shows up in its inbox?

But, oh, what a difference a day makes!

Today - every bit of it - was like a "Dear Thea" letter from God.

A fellow writer invites me to swap and critique manuscripts with her. Our respective books are at about the same point of readiness and we think alike, so why not combine resources? A long forgotten travel mug with the words, “Look into thy heart and write!” appears in my kitchen. Bible verses that inspire me to continue the work I've begun find their way into my daily reading. Notes from a four-year old sermon* cross my desk, addressing the question, "What do you do when you think you're at the finish line, and it becomes a brick wall?" Not least, the same sermon contains an admonition to pray consistently for things that may never benefit me.

How’s that again?

I admit it, I want accolades. I want writers’ prestige. Heck fire, I want Penguin Random House to seek me out, woo me with a huge advance, and whisk me off on a 15-city tour.

I also want to be able to eat chocolate till the Easter bunny cries “Uncle” without gaining an ounce, but that’s not happening either.

Nevertheless, everything I touch today holds the message, stay the course.

It isn’t about my getting mine, whatever that may be. It isn’t about me getting recognized for a plot line God planted in my brain, or for stringing together sentences that flow well and hold people’s interest.

It is about making a meaningful contribution to an important dialogue our country needs to have. It’s about advancing truth – not relative truth, as so many would declare it, but eternal, absolute truth spelled out in a Holy Book that’s survived for centuries because it contains just that.

And it’s about obeying a calling that persists and resists the urge to give up and insists on being heeded, however long it takes.

It’s about doing each next right thing, as God directs, and leaving the results in His hands.

“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” – Romans 11:29

 *Notes taken from Rev. Jerry Iamurri's August 26, 2012 sermon based on Daniel 10:1-20.