Heartbeat Press - December 2024 Edition

Joseph - A Father's Calling  

    It's snowing outside...the first of the season. Students buzz, hoping the weather will delay or cancel school tomorrow; office workers grumble as they trudge to their cars, anticipating shoveling when they reach home; one frazzled mom speed-walks through store aisles trying to expedite her shopping in order to beat the slick roads. And, in a deafening silence matched only by the hush of snow outside, two blue lines peer up from a drug store pregnancy test at the stock-still young man who can only stare back at the tiny white stick in dumbfounded disbelief. A thousand questions crash into each other, but none of them can find words. For the first time in his life, no rational thought will form...or any thought for that matter. But, even so the young man is horrifyingly aware that nothing he might come up with would be sufficient to manage his tumbling emotions or end this eternity-long moment. And she's looking at him, with those big brown eyes...waiting for a response. Something, anything. But, what can he give her? Complete and utter loss is hardly what she needs right now, but it's seemingly all he can manage. That or fear, but how can he offer her that? Personal terror would only fail her more than he already has.

    Mirroring the situation three million couples find themselves in annually, the scene above also played out (albeit with a miraculous twist) over 2,000 years ago in a little Israelite backwater called Nazareth. The couple? A young girl newly and unexpectedly pregnant named Mary and her baffled and fearful soon-to-be-husband, Joseph. While often retold from Mary's point of view, the Christmas Story is already a Pro-Life story, its beats highlighting the unexpected but amazing nature of Jesus' birth, the joy Mary found in trusting the Lord for her provision, and the truth that no life (abrupt in origin or otherwise) is useless. But beyond that, the Christmas Story also has a powerful Pro-Life message for men, as told through the eyes of Joseph. 

    Joseph wasn't ready to be a father. In fact, it never occurred to him that he could become one so quickly and, like many men in similar situations, he didn't know how to make it past the next moment, let alone ponder the implications of raising an unexpected child. He was tempted to abandon the situation all together, and in Israelite culture at the time he would have been perfectly justified in leaving Mary for (apparently) dishonoring him so completely. Doing so would have left Mary utterly alone, saddled with the "consequences of her actions," but would have allowed Joseph to move on with his life without a second thought. Yet Joseph didn't abandon Mary. Instead, after a divine message, he answered the call that had been placed on his life long before he understood it or its implications, taking Mary as his wife and, essentially, adopting her son. 

    While seemingly backward to our modern way of thinking, Joseph's actions fill a void in the Christmas Story and becomes an early picture of self sacrifice for love of another (a picture that would be made complete in Jesus Christ thirty years later at Easter). Joseph's choice to love Mary despite her unusual circumstances meant he agreed to protect her from the judgement of a world that didn't understand the divine situation. He agreed to walk with her through life's ups and downs, sheltering her and giving her every bit of his strength should she need it. And, showing incredible trust in the calling placed on him, Joseph's choice also meant he wholeheartedly agreed to love Mary's son (taking him as his own) despite the whispers surrounding the boy. Caring for him, loving him, promising to help him grow into the man he was meant to become because Joseph (laymen though he was) understood what fatherhood meant and willingly took up the job when it was asked of him. 

    The same should be said of all fathers - expected, unexpected, devoted, and found. No matter how they become fathers, every man that finds himself the shepherd of tiny lives has a beautiful calling and a powerful testimony of purpose should he take up the call God has given to him. Too often discounted in modern society, fathers are the bedrock of families, the builders of homes, and (quite often) the first line of defense against sugar-coated abortion lies (do not discount the influence of men in this arena). It's a special profession defined by its diligence just as much as by its strength. As such, taking up the responsibility is an act of bravery that should not go unappreciated or forgotten. 

    Finally, a small encouragement for those men discovering they are going to be fathers, perhaps in a scene like the one at the beginning of this article, fraught with fear and uncertainty. Know this: God doesn't make mistakes. He knew he wanted Joseph to be his earthly father, and God wants you to be the father of this child. He picked you personally before time began, gifting you with this little life and the ability to protect it. He trusts you to be its father and He will be with you every step of the way. Your job in this moment (fears and all) is to trust Him in return. 

Sources: Wikipedia, Google, Live Action News 

Resources: Pro-Choice Men

Photo Credit: Catholic To The Max.com

Sugar Snow

Sugar snow,

The Christmas kind,

That drifts in sparkling mounds.

Upon the hill...against the house, 

Leaving traced patterns, 

Across the frosted pane. 

Photo Credit: Pinterest

The Hush

The hush of a college commons,

Late on a Wednesday night. 

Is held by steady breathing, 

And the soft falling snow outside.

A world of its own making,

Made up of quite minds. 

A feeling of focused melancholy,

And the anticipation of homebound trips.

A week before Christmas break,

A holy calm ensues.

The hush of a college commons,

Filled with the hopeful few. 

Photo Credit: Art Station (pinterest)

Heartbeat Press - November 2024 Edition

Britney and Jamie Lynn - A Tale of Two Sisters

    "I need to have purpose in just about everything I do," wrote Jamie Lynn Spears in her 2022 autobiography, Things I Should Have Said, that, among other things, detailed the actress's early career, family climate, and the birth, life, and near death of her daughter Maddie, in February 2017. An accident at a family home, cooly described by the media but emotionally explained by Spears in her book, saw young Maddie pinned under a crashed ATV and submerged in a backyard pond long enough to require intensive hospitalization and ventilation assisted breathing for over 24 hours. Thankfully, because of dedicated doctors and buckets of prayer from friends and family, the eight-year-old miraculously recovered - suffering no ill effects to this day. A survival that Jamie Lynn credits to the Lord's hand on her daughter's life before, during, and after the ordeal. However, this was not the first time the Lord had protected Maddie. In fact, her life started with an act of protection. 

    Unexpectedly pregnant at sixteen and unsure of how parenting a child would affect her relationship, career, and celebrity standing, Jamie Lynn recounted that, once the news of her condition broke, everyone around her was less than thrilled that a baby was on the way. Foregoing encouragement, tabloid magazines (that live on celebrity "mistakes") declared that the young star had "ruined her career" and had behaved life white trash. Fans agonized over the story and friends and family jovially suggested that an abortion was in Jamie Lynn's best interest. In retrospect, abortion would have been the "smart" option had Spears wanted to maintain her glitzy flashbulb-illuminated life. Going through with the procedure would have been extremely "easy" given its promotion by everyone in her inner circle. And Jamie Lynn's own sister, Britney Spears, had gone through the same problem with her own unplanned pregnancy in 2000, eventually going through with a chemical abortion, thought later writings by Britney revealed that it was a coerced decision. 

    But, young as she was, Jamie Lynn still saw the inherent value of the child slowly growing inside of her and, more importantly, recognized it as a human being, a beautiful daughter, who was not a curse but rather a great blessing despite the surprise of her existence. Battling the "Abortion is the Best Option" crowd and the relentless media, Jamie Lynn kept her daughter, never regretting her decision once. In fact, raising Maddie has enriched Jamie Lynn's life a hundred times over. The choice wasn't easy, with the constant media bombardment and her realization that she had to grow up very fast in order to be a proper provider for Maddie. But, by all accounts and with years of hindsight, raising an unexpected daughter gave Jamie Lynn a greater life's purpose than a decades-long career would have given her. And the unwavering love that forever links mother and daughter has healed many scars both of them had and would receive. 

    When contrasted with the reality older sister Britney Spears had endured, the miracle of Jamie Lynn and Maddie's lives becomes even more profound. Many things have played a role in the downward spiral that has been Britney's life. The world-famous star was exposed to the damages of fame at a very young age, existed in multiple abusive relationships (with boyfriends, husbands, and her own father), and has suffered from untreated  and aggravated mental health problems for the majority of her adult life. The abortion she submitted herself to at the age of nineteen is not the only instigator of her tattered existence. But, it was coerced, kept secret for years, and horribly bloody (mirroring the experiences of hundreds of women who endured chemical abortions alone in their bathrooms with the full knowledge that they had ended their baby's lives). Detailed in Heartbeat Press's February 2023 edition, Britney's abortion may not have been the end or even the beginning of her problems, but it was certainly a huge contributor to them, especially since the star endured it uncomforted and has never (to the knowledge of this newspaper) delt with the emotional fallout of an act that eats everyone who goes through with it from the inside out. 

    At its core, the story of Britney and Jamie Lynn is a comparison between the two ways an unexpected pregnancy can play out and the way each impacts a woman for years to come. Jamie Lynn resisted an abortion even though it was difficult, which necessitated the postponement of her career plans. But, ultimately, she has experienced a fuller life and has a beautiful daughter to go through every up and down with. In contrast, Britney was forced into an abortion and has endured the physical, emotional, and lonely scars of the procedure her entire life without much comfort from her "flourishing" career and fame. Case and point? Children do not ruin the lives of their mothers. They are often the greatest blessing ever given, the destruction of which is more damaging than anyone wants to admit. 

Sources: People.com, Goodreads.com, Rolling Stone.com, Live Action News.com, Things I Should Have Said by Jamie Lynn Spears, The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

Photo Credit: 

Heartbeat Press - October 2024 Edition

Dead Eyes - Windows to Troubled Souls 

    A cold wind whistles low across the leaf-barren trees, and the murky darkness grows ever so slightly. A distant door slams, raising all the hairs on the back of your neck. A low chuckle rises from an unseen throat hidden somewhere in the shadows moments before a bolt of lightning suddenly illuminates the sky above you. For one brief moment you are face-to-face with a horrible, shallow-faced figure with beady dark eyes that flash with the lightning but reflect absolutely no light. In another instant, the world is dark again and you are seemingly alone. Except you know you're not. That thing with the empty eyes is still there, its presence permeating every fiber of your being, letting you know that it is sickeningly real and very close by. 

    Have you ever looked into someone's eyes only to see nothing looking back at you? Not a thought, not a hope, no soul to speak of...simply an empty vessel? As the description above suggests, this type of creature is something you would normally only expect to encounter in a gothic, black and white horror movie (see anything Universal or Hammer House of Horror ever made), accompanied by special effects and precisely-timed jump scares for the best entertainment. Yet, more and more, this type of creature can be seen in the real world and is more common then anyone may realize. You only need to look into its eyes to identify it. The abortion doctor is one of these creatures. As melodramatic as this sounds, one look into the eyes of any abortion-committing individual proves my point, as even the deepest of stares reveal only a beady emptiness and a total lack of empathy that stretches to the black pits of these individuals' souls. Abortion history also proves my point.

    - Kermit Gosnell, previously covered in Heartbeat Press' October 2022 Edition, had no humanity behind his eyes, only an inky blackness that sucked inward indefinitely. Years of legally-committed murder and deftly-hidden serial killer behavior rotted his soul, eventually leading to his imprisonment without possibility of parole, but not before hundreds of children and at least one woman met their ends at the hands of the former doctor. 

    - Dr. Josef Mengele, the Holocaust's notorious "Angel of Death," who experimented on captive Jews during World War II, escaped The Nuremburg Trials of 1945 but went on to apply his "talents" to "women's healthcare" in Argentina. Operating out of back-alley clinics and keeping a low profile, Mengele preformed abortions and also had empty eyes that were ever-glinty in the pursuit of his trade of death. Mengele never faced justice for his crimes, Holocaust or abortion, and, like many abortionists, never showed remorse for his intentional ending of human life.

    - Even Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood's founder and golden child, covered in Heartbeat Press' October 2023 Edition, had ebony eyes that whispered of the deadly intent the woman had. Her work alone irreversibly bolstered abortion in the USA and led to the corruption of the 1940s Women's Movement. 

Every one of them willingly destroyed life and every one of them had dead eyes reflecting the absolute blackness of souls that were willing to murder children and destroy mothers in the name of "good," "progress," or "healthcare." But more than the act, the optical calling card (still seen in doctors today) is solidified by the explanation for it, expertly summed up by former abortionist, Dr. Anthony Levation. When asked if he saw humanity in aborted babies, the doctor remarked, during a panel discussion for Live Action News, "Did I know those were human being? Absolutely. I...didn't...care." That is what abortion does to those who commit it. It kills their souls and leaves them with nothing behind their eyes but the depth of their sin. 

    But my purpose here is not to demonize these individuals. Their actions are theirs to answer for with or without my condemnation. Rather, my heart cries for each of these monsters because, behind their dark souls and horrendous acts, I can also see the children of God they were meant to be before they sold themselves to evil, as strange as that fact is to realize. Consider for a moment that, under the rot and decay of mechanically-committed murder, the heart of a Child of God, one capable of great good, is still softly beating behind the hollow eyes of every abortion doctor. They just have not yet encountered the all forgiving, world rocking, grace of God. A grace He offers for every sin...even theirs.

    Like every gothic horror monster artfully presented with crackling lighting and foggy stars illuminating their dark eyes, these modern monsters are capable of redemption. If they weren't, Abby Johnson, Dr. Bernard Nathanson, and Dr. Noreen Johnson wouldn't have the awe-inspiring testimonies that make them Pro-Life powerhouses today. A complete soul change is possible; it is God-timed, but until it occurs I encourage you to remember Jeremiah 33:8 and meditate on God's plan for everyone's redemption. As foreign as it sounds, I encourage you to pray for the modern monster that is the abortion doctor. Pray that their hearts would begin to beat again and that the blindness would fall from their eyes. God has a powerful plan for each one of them; their redemption stories just haven't started yet. 

Sources: Live Action News, Google, Wikipedia, YouTube

Photo Credit: Dr. Health Clinic.com

Leaves

Never has death smelled so sweet,

Or bestowed such music on still, attentive ears.

And yet the leaves live this contradiction,

Every fall.

                

Would that man could do the same. 

Photo Credit: Renee Kurilla

Summer and Autumn

Autumn's glassy fingers have come over the sun,

And rush to wave good bye

To his love, the Summer, as she slips away.

Allow them an embrace of chilly warmth at the horizon.

Summer flees the chill of her love,

Though his embrace is crisp and dear of old.

A parting caress is all she can give his cheek - stay...

"Until next year my beloved."

Photo Credit: Vincent Mallie

Heartbeat Press - September 2024 Edition

A Moment in Time - The Voice of a Culture Saved from Death 

    On a warm, slightly breezy spring day in 2019, dozens of Pro-Lifers milled around behind the curtain of a large out-door stage in New York City. A hundred more stood out front, waiting for the next speaker who was scheduled to appear that day...and Christina Bennett took a moment to breathe and offer up a silent prayer before stepping out from behind the curtain. She wasn't nervous. She had spoken at enough of these events to forgo any pre-speech jitters, but every time she spoke she was reminded of just how powerful her message was. Like everyone here, she cared deeply about the fight for life. But, unlike the majority, this fight was extremely personal to her. She had to convey the depth of this cause every time she spoke, a feat she knew she could only accomplish with the Lord's strength, not her own. 

    Born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, Christina Bennett almost didn't make it to her birthday. If you were to ask her about it, Bennett would point out that this nearly happened because her mother, a young, single, lower-middle class, Black woman was part of the key demographic Planned Parenthood geared its abortion propaganda towards. To this day, the nation's biggest abortion provider routinely targets "disadvantaged" groups, reasoning that they need access to abortion more than other demographics and providing guilt-free murder enables the company to engage in essential social justice. In 1981, Bennett's mother fell for their highly-polished sales pitch.

    Unexpectedly pregnant and unsure what she should do, Bennett's mother scheduled an abortion, believing it was the only option left to her. She had no support system to speak of, so the facade of care oozing from her neighborhood Planned Parenthood offered a sickly-sweet shoulder to cry on and a "comforting" voice to assure her that the decision she had made, no matter how she might wrestle with it, was the right one. But, when her appointment day arrived, Bennett's mother couldn't shake a nagging feeling of hesitation. She wasn't sure she wanted to go through with the abortion, but as she sat in the doctor's office half-listening to the laundry list of pre-procedure paperwork being rattle off by a facility counselor, she had no time to ask herself what she actually wanted.

    Stepping out into the hallway for a moment, Bennett's mother found herself suddenly overcome with a rush of sadness slamming into her like a wave, causing her to drop to her knees to release great rolling sobs in a desperate attempt to relieve even a small amount of the pressure building inside. She didn't know what she wanted and she had no time to change her mind. What if she made the wrong choice? It was there, in that moment when Bennett's mother was only aware of her own grief, that a soft hand placed itself on her shoulder, causing her to meet the determined gaze of an older African-American woman kneeling on the floor in front of her. "Do you want to have this baby?" the woman asked. Bennett's mother could only stare at the woman through tear-stained eyes, but, almost unconsciously, found herself nodding yes. "Then the Lord will give you the strength of walk out of here." In the holy hush that followed the woman's words, two lives changed forever. Amid a severe onslaught from the abortion doctor, Bennett's mother left the neighborhood Planned Parenthood and kept the baby who would grow up to be a powerful voice in the Pro-Life movement. 

    Christina Bennett knows she should have died that day, and she has never stopped praising God for allowing her to live and share her story with millions of people. Building on the facts mentioned above, Bennett's platform focuses on the "Black Experience" with abortion, namely that it is the culture most targeted by the abortion industry. Research reveals that 16 million Black babies have been aborted since Roe's installation in 1973 (360 every day). Black women (15% of the childbearing population) receive 33% of abortions. And the abortion giant, Planned Parenthood, was founded by a racist who unapologetically promoted the extermination of the Black community through eugenics. And yet abortion is still promoted as a necessity "graciously" given to the Black community. 

    Bennett disagrees. Social justice does not demand the deaths of the innocent as payment for forward movement. The destruction of children and, by default, their mothers' hearts cannot build a brighter future. And the Black community doesn't need abortion to thrive. In fact, it has routinely proven it is more powerful when building its next generation. "This is an extension of the Civil Rights Movement," Bennett proclaimed on that spring day in New York City. This time it will be characterized by the saving of lives instead of a fight for equality. As such, it's time to pick which side of history everyone is going to be on. 

Resources: YouTube.com, CURE

Photo Credit: Focus on the Family.com 

Heartbeat Press - August 2024 Edition

Back to School, Back to the Frontlines - Being a Pro-Life Light Wherever You Are

    Students! Don't panic just yet, but the beginning of your fall semester is right around the corner! It's less than half a month away from some of you. Tires screeching. Panicked screaming. "Oh the humanity!" While I asked you not to panic, many of you just did and, just as quickly, mentally skimmed a list of rapid-fire questions meant to help you prepare for the school year. Questions like, "Where did the summer go?" "Can't I have just one more week off?" "What's my class schedule?" "Am I even signed up for classes?!" "Am I ready to deal with deadlines, professors, and hard work again?" Take a deep breath. More than likely you are exactly where you need to be in order to hit the ground running in September. But it is my hope that parsing through those questions will also spark a few more (sort of school-related) thoughts for those of you with Pro-Life convictions - thoughts that live up to the understanding that being Pro-Life is a demeanor that shouldn't stop once you walk through your university doors. 

    That being said, know that standing up for what you believe in is never easy. All throughout history, but especially in our modern, ultra-self serving society that says everyone must conform to majority morals or be ostracized, separating yourself from that majority to say, "This is what I know to be right and will defend for the sake of those who are in need," takes real determination and a not-insignificant amount of grit. 

    But I want to encourage those of you who have decided that your Pro-Life beliefs are worth hanging onto, even if it means carrying them into a setting that does not show great appreciation for them. By choosing to consider how you can live out your beliefs in front of your peers, you have not only separated yourself from those who prize convenience over truth but you have also answered a call placed on your life that was woven into your heart long before you ever felt it stirring. It's a calling cherished by God. It is much bigger than any nay-saying crowd. And, whatever you do to answer it, that act will matter much more than anything you do in college, your first year as a post-grad, or for the rest of your life. 

    As a Pro-Life college student, you've been given the unique opportunity to shine the light of life into a place unreachable to many others. How amazing that you have been asked to speak to you fellow students about the truth that life is precious, or to come alongside your friend with an unexpected pregnancy to show her that there are better options than abortion, or to minister to a post-abortive classmate who needs comfort and someone to point her towards her first steps of healing. How much more powerful are these acts coming from someone who fights the battle for life from the frontlines, a soldier who sees the hurt clearly enough to go to her own people with the truth and love to heal it, who has the right answers to the questions everyone's asking and doesn't withhold them for fear or majority judgment. That is the opportunity you have been given. Care to take it? 

    Finally, remember that however you choose to live out your Pro-Life convictions, your contribution does not need to be loud, complicated, or bombastic. In fact, many of the most effective ministries are small, relationship-based works of heart that seek first to honor God in what they do. Consider your strengths and how God would have you use them to build your testimony. In this way, you can add a unique talent to the Pro-Life movement and, more importantly, can proudly say you know you did your very best in what God asked you to do. Why not start by looking over the simple starter Pro-Life acts listed below and considering which ones you can bring back to school this fall. 

1. Read Pro-Life books (knowledge is power).

2. Collect contact info for local Pregnancy Resource Centers (to pass along if needed) 

3. Prayer walk around your campus.

4. Ware a "Precious Feet" pin (powerful conversations have been sparked by less).

5. Join or start your school's Pro-Life ministry/chapter

6. Leave Pro-Life material in your school's commons/re-room.

7. Gather friends to pray outside nearby abortion clinics (they are often close to colleges).

8. Wear Pro-Life t-shirts and jackets (consider becoming a Pro-Life brand ambassador).

9. Recommend Pro-Life movies to friends (Bella, Look Both Ways, Lifemark).

10. Draw Pro-Life chalk art around campus. 

Resources: Students for Life of America, Heartbeat Press September 2022 Edition, Heartbeat Press' bi-weekly "Pro-Life Challenges" 

Photo Credit: LNN: Levy News Network 

Heartbeat Press - July 2024 Edition

 Pro-Life Spiderman - A Unique Perspective On A Cause

    The wind whistled past Maison's ear as he reached up to find his next rung of support a full arm's length above his head. Feeling the chilly air pick up speed all around him, he found that next grip quickly but carefully, and pulled himself up to meet it face to face before settling firmly into a stabilizing position: feet planted wide apart, knees steady but not locked, shoulders squared with the rest of his body. In this position, perched atop a skyscraper hundreds of feet above the ground, Maison took a moment to self-assess, body and mind. 

    His fingers were sore. Not horribly so but enough to be noticeable. Realizing this, Maison chuckled to himself. He'd never get used to it. Even after years in this extreme sport, repeatedly exercising the muscles in his hands to cling to small edges for extended periods of time, his hands still cramped at the halfway point of these long ascents, leaving him with a reminder of his own limitations. Limitations he was constantly pushing because he couldn't be satisfied staying stagnant. Logically, Maison knew he would one day reach the end of his ability - a place or skill he just couldn't move past - but he quietly hoped that end would come slowly and only after years of work. After all, he had so much more he wanted to do that just couldn't happen on the ground. Not that any of that mattered now. Maison never liked thinking about the limits of what he could do and up here, at the top of the world, there was no time to dwell on it. Not with his most recent goal so close at hand.

    Banishing dread and the feeling of burning muscles from his mind, Maison looked straight up to see endless blue sky and big fluffy clouds sailing by in the buffeting wind. Another hand hold, identical to the one he now clung to, was almost within reach, as was the next one, and the one after that. "Less than half way to go," he thought. With a final push he would be at the top, his goal would be reached, and a woman would get the help she so desperately needed. But it all relied on his ability to make it all the way up. 

    Steadying himself for the final leg of the journey, Maison chanced a glance down. He wasn't afraid of heights (his task would be physically impossible if he was), but it never ceased to amaze him just how high up his was every time he made a climb. Pedestrians (hundreds of yards below) looked like ants, fire trucks and police cars (all here for him) sat miniature-sized with their flashing lights resembling tiny battery-operated Christmas toys, and even sky scrapers that matched the one he hung from looked small as he watched their floors climb into the sky alongside the identical ones next to him. 

    Up here, in a place only birds and planes could fly and only God could walk, all of it was so small, unimportant. It struck Maison just how miniscule the whole world seemed when compared to his reason for being up here. Maison smiled to himself as he turned his gaze from the ground to look up at the sky once more. That reason was bigger than anything going on on the ground and it was bigger than him. He was just a tiny part of a bigger cause, doing what he could with what he had been given but, as Maison reached up to grab his next hand hold in pursuit of his goal, he couldn't help but be a little proud of the unique part he had been given to play in God's bigger picture. 

    Maison DesChamps, aka Pro-Life Spiderman (first covered by Heartbeat Press for the In the News section of our March 2024 Edition), has been professionally free climbing for years but only began applying his talent to his Pro-Life beliefs in 2023. He's a hero to some and an agitator to others, but one thing is certain: he has wholeheartedly taken up the calling that God has put on his life, as well as the courage of his superhero namesake. 

    Routinely climbing incredibly tall structures, including the Salesforce Tower, the Ritz-Carlton, and the Las Vegas Sphere, to raise the public's awareness of Pro-Life work, DesChamps also performs his stunts to raise money for expectant mothers in need through the Pro-Life charity Let Them Live. He's never fallen, has plans to climb again, and has been arrested several times. But even that has not caused DesChamps to waver in his mission because he recognizes that he has been given a powerful calling and a unique position from which to proclaim the simple truth that, Life is Precious And Worth Protecting.

    Despite his superhero status, DesChamps has never failed to give glory to God (most notably while live streaming from the top of the Las Vegas Sphere during Superbowl weekend), demonstrating that saving life is a mission that goes far beyond a group or one man's ability. It's God's prerogative that we have all been graciously gifted a part in. We just need to be brave enough to take up the task, be it on the ground, in the air, or somewhere in-between. 

Sources: NPR.org, YouTube.com

Photo Credit: LuLu on Pinterest