I was recently asked, “Are we doing any good?”
My first answer is to ask, “What does God want from us?” Dr. Lamb, former executive director of Lutherans For Life, has answered it this way: “God asks us to be faithful, He does not ask us to be successful.” Success is the job of the Holy Spirit. We are God’s hands and mouth here on earth. His Holy Spirit will manage the results.
What also comes to mind is all of the “For Life” causes our rummage sale money supports.
- I cannot be with that young girl when her boyfriend becomes abusive. But I can fund and help with a “Healthy Relationships” evening that can tell her where help can be found and what behavior is unacceptable.
- I cannot be there when Pam Detton of Newborns in Need uses our $500 to buy fabric so that an elderly man in Kansas can pick up material and hand sew onesies and footie pajamas for the layettes they give out to new mothers in need.
- I cannot manage the Sammy’s Window warehouse so that when foster care children come in they can choose their own toothbrushes, but, with our donations, someone else can.
- I cannot go to Iowa to the national Lutherans For Life office and write Life Sunday worship materials or devotions, but our $500 can help pay the salary or the light bill so someone else can.
- I cannot be present when a girl who chose the chemical abortion path takes the first pill but then changes her mind. She contacts a gynecologist associated with the group Abortion Pill Reversal and our dollars help pay for the progesterone that will stop that chemical abortion.
- I cannot be present when Diane Albers, president of LFL of Missouri, needs funds to buy another pull-up banner because someone has borrowed it and did not return it. But our $500 can help with the cost.
- I cannot be in St. Louis at KFUO Radio while Family Shield Ministries interviews Rev. Michael Salemink, the current executive director for Lutherans For Life. But our dollars can buy the airtime so Kay Meyers can.
- I cannot counsel a woman in a crisis pregnancy at the Life House, but with our dollars, they can counsel her, help her get a job, find childcare when the baby is born—and teach her how to be self-supporting.
- I cannot be with each elderly person at a nursing home when they need Kleenex or hand lotion, but our ingathering for the elderly can provide some help and comfort.
- Finally, I cannot be at Lutheran Family and Child Services (LFCS) for the myriad of help they provide, including supporting a baby finding a “forever home” through adoption. Our dollars, however, can help fund the counselors or keep the lights on so that work can be done.
So yes, I think Lutherans For Life is doing a lot of “good.” It is pretty amazing to be God’s hands!
Karen Freiert is a member of Springfield, Missouri, LFL #90.