“What can we do?” “How can I help?” “My voice will never be heard.” These are questions and statements I hear quite a bit while I am visiting with people in our community about the work at HOPE. I get it. I was in that place for quite some time. I had aspirations and ideas, but the motivation to act took time to culminate.
I think much of this was due to the large hill I saw that needed to be climbed. I didn’t want to engage because engagement would take time, effort, and sacrifice. It was easier to close my blinds and act like my actions wouldn’t have any positive affect.
Conviction, however, changed all that. I am grateful that God moved me from my disengagement and brought me to HOPE. I am grateful that every single day I get to witness lives being valued and saved. I am truly grateful that God is in the calling business and is bringing an entire generation to the pro-life movement.
We witnessed this wonderful truth last night as two eighth graders visited HOPE with 2000 diapers in tow. These wonderful young people took it upon themselves to lead a diaper drive for our patients. They didn’t wait for us to cast vision or to reach out. They didn’t wait for a teacher to require volunteer hours. They simply acted. They saw a need and wanted to meet that need.
Too many wish to dismiss the younger generation, but in reality, these young students represent a generation of doers. A generation that has grown up with everything at their fingertips. They, through the power of the internet, can see the issues facing our society and our globe. They don’t wait for the papers or for the nightly news to report. They can find answers through social media or a quick Google search. It is this “power” that moves them to act.
This means that the young people filling our schools today have seen babies via ultrasound their entire lives. Think about that. This truth has birthed a pro-life generation. Agendas and narratives can be pushed, but ultimately, the younger generation fact checks everything, and the facts show babies, not clumps of cells, in the womb. The facts also show countless moms in crisis in need of assistance.
These truths prove very positive for the future of the life movement and places like HOPE. A young generation will, one day, pick up the torch and continue this fight and service. Detractors will argue this point, but the truth is clear. We are seeing a generation standing for and appreciating life. This deserves our celebration and our welcoming as we witness the life movement expand and reach all corners of this country.
I am grateful for this generation. I am grateful for eighth graders that don’t wait around, but instead, simply act. I am grateful for their parents and the leaders in their lives that have fostered this type of action-minded activism.
I pray we would follow the lead of these wonderful young people and engage with the community we get to call home. There are countless women facing unplanned pregnancies right now as I type this out. This is a motivating truth and I am proud to say that this community is allowing this truth and motivation to move it into action. We are honored to stand with you as we serve!
posted by Andrew Wood, Executive Director of Hope Resource Center
