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