A Word From Ed
In 2016, I first heard of Options from my senior Pastor during Sunday morning worship at my church. He said, "Our church has been blessed to have so many resources made available to us by the Lord. We have always had a strong desire to help save the life of an unborn child whose mother feels that she has no options other than abortion. We feel for the mother… we grieve for the unborn child.” He continued, “I believe that the best way of dealing with the challenge of abortion is by loving those women who are faced with an unplanned pregnancy, sharing with them some options for life and walking with them as they courageously make a choice for life."
Two years later, in my branch group, I was invited to “Rise Up”, an annual event hosted by Options. I was uplifted by two stories. The first came from a movie producer who was the keynote speaker. He shared his commitment to convey the preciousness of life for the unborn through his movies. This was followed by the amazing testimony of a young woman the Lord led to Options. Towards the end of the event that evening, I remember having two thoughts. First, the simple black and white fact that the Lord God is the Creator of life - there is no other. Second, that without a doubt, God would be pleased if I invested my time, talent and treasure in the cause to promote life – that is, eternal life through Christ, and the life of the unborn.
I asked myself how much time, talent and treasure was I currently investing in helping the unborn. My answers: In all elections without exception, I voted only for pro-life candidates. I made small financial donations to Christian organizations and special offerings at church related to the unborn. Finally, I would occasionally shake my head and make negative remarks at home after hearing or reading something about pro-abortion. That was the extent of my contribution in supporting the lives of the unborn. I knew this paled against a prevailing culture of death in the US today. I was moved by conviction and obedience to fill out a volunteer card that evening.
Volunteering at Options, I see the staff are gifted in the Lord and have the calling; a sincere compassion for women facing unplanned pregnancies, along with their babies and their eternal destinies. They have a true, God-given joy for life. The Lord brings the women, many abortion-minded, into the office to meet with their staff. What is taking place when that happens? It's a culture of life intersecting and doing battle with a culture of death. Regardless of our laws permitting abortion, it comes down to the individual woman choosing life or death for her unborn. One woman at a time, one choice at a time. That's the manner in which the Lord uses Options - to preserve the sanctity of life, and share God’s forgiveness and the hope of eternal life.
Ed Lum
Volunteer
