Holly
Holly stared at the flyer and chewed on the inside of her lip. Could she do this? That was a stupid question. Of course, she could. All it required was walking and praying, and she was definitely capable of doing both. But should she do this? Perhaps that was the better question, and wasn’t it odd how one little helping verb changed the answer? She’d been attending church with Ashley for the last few months after her failed engagement — no need to remember that fiasco today — and to say it had rocked her world would be putting it mildly. She’d always thought she was a good person — moral, decent, kind — but she wasn’t what the pastor called a “believer.” She didn’t put her entire faith in the idea that some God was watching over her. At least she hadn’t until recently.
A few weeks ago, she’d made the decision to let “Jesus take the wheel,”’ as the song said and give Him control. Since then, she’d been feeling the pull to do something for Him, for the Kingdom, but she’d continued to sit in the chairs and make excuses. She was busy, she was too new to the faith, as a business owner, she was a community leader and needed to stay neutral. But as a believer, wasn’t she called to make a stand for what was right? Even if it cost her the business? Could it cost her the business? She sighed. Why had she thought being a believer would make everything easier? It certainly wasn’t shaping up that way for her.
What was more important? Life on earth or heaven afterward? Of course the answer was heaven, and if she really believed that then she should be sharing God’s Word wherever she went and attending events like this to speak out about issues that would grieve God.
“You can do this,” she said to herself, pulling back her shoulders and grabbing her coat. It was just a prayer walk. Walk and pray. What could really be so wrong about that? Yes, there were people who didn’t believe in the cause they were praying for, but it was just prayer. Nothing that polarizing, right?
The crowd was already large when she pulled up even though the weather was cold today. Winter had officially struck, and though the first snow hadn’t happened yet, a chill hung in the air. Still, that didn’t seem to deter the people gathered today. They were bundled in coats and scarves but here all the same, and while the walk had been mentioned in the announcements for the past several weeks, Holly hadn’t realized so many people actually cared about the cause.
“Holly, so glad you could make it,” Ashley said, hurrying up to her and giving her a hug.
“Thanks. I’m still not sure I should be here, you know, as a business owner in the community.” She glanced around to see if there were any other owners she recognized, but she appeared to be the only one.
Ashley nodded. “I can understand that, but I think you’ll find there are many more people who support what we’re doing than the ones who don’t. After all, we’re not trying to take a choice away; we’re simply praying they will choose life.”
Holly took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re right.” After Frederick, Holly had finally been open to the idea of church, but attending on Sundays was much different than being out in the community. Church on Sundays was for believers. It was a time of fellowship with like-minded people, and while some people would never step foot in a church, they didn’t seem to care if others did. What they were doing today was different though. It would be like bringing church to the streets, and she knew there would be those who would oppose that even though they were just praying.
It didn’t help that the topic was controversial. She would never have an abortion herself, but she’d always considered herself pro-choice. Until she watched Tiffany’s struggle with fertility. Her friend had wanted nothing more than to be a mother for most of her life, but due to health issues, she was unable to have children naturally. There were so many women just like Tiffany who couldn’t have a child of their own but longed for one while other women treated abortion like a method of birth control. It didn’t seem fair to Holly, but then she knew life wasn’t always fair.
“Don’t worry, it will be fine. Dale will open us up in prayer and then we walk to the center. Sometimes people ask us to pray for them, so we might stop if that happens, but generally it’s just a walk with a time of prayer at the center. The worst thing we’ve ever had happen is a few people yell at us. We just tell them God loves them and add them to our prayer journals. Since it’s your first time, I’ll be sure and stay close to you so that I can help in any way.”
“Thank you. That makes me feel better. No one will physically attack us, right?” She felt silly asking, but Ashley had been the one to bring it up.
“Oh nothing like that, but they have yelled some profanity at us and used some colorful gestures. We’re lucky that the clinic was built on the outskirts of town. Some places have to deal with this right in their downtown.”
“Yeah, that would be worse.” Holly could handle a little profanity and a few gestures. She was from New York, after all, and had built up an immunity to colorful language around the time she turned sixteen.
“Come on, it’s starting.” Ashley pulled her closer to the small platform that was serving as a stage. An older man held up his hands to quiet the crowd.
“Good morning, and thank you for coming. I’m not the one who started this prayer walk, but I know Dougie would be proud to see how many people are here today.”
Dougie? He’d been a part of this? How had she not known that?
“Our numbers appear to be growing each month which is exciting to see. For those of you who’ve been here before, welcome back, and for those of you just joining us, welcome. I’ll open us up in prayer and then we’ll begin our walk. Remember, God says we should pray without ceasing. It doesn’t have to be out loud, but be praying in your heart for all the lives lost to this atrocity. Pray that hearts and minds will be changed and pray that our leaders have the courage to stand for the sanctity of life. Also, in case you didn’t know, we have a local clinic here that offers alternatives to abortion, so praying for their protection and continued success is also welcome. Does anyone have any questions?”
Holly glanced around to see if any hand would lift into the air. Dale had made it seem straightforward, so she doubted anyone would have questions about the process.
“Okay then, let’s pray. Lord, we thank you for this group of people willing to come and pray. We thank you for the opportunity to come together and pray for the people of this town and the Options Care clinic. Please keep us safe today and help us to present Your word in a kind and peaceful way so that we may win hearts and minds and not turn anyone further away from You. Amen.”
With the prayer over, the people lined up in groups of two or three and began the slow walk around the outer edge of town. For the most part, Courage was peaceful — full of tourist shops and friendly business owners, but lately, there had been a rowdy group of people coming in and causing trouble on the outskirts of town.
As they walked, Holly tried to keep her focus on praying, but her mind wandered. How did people stay so focused with the issues around them?
“What right do you have to take women’s health care away?”
The voice startled Holly, and she glanced over to see a woman shoving a camera in someone’s face a few feet in front of them. Where had she come from? Holly looked around and realized a few other people had joined the angry woman and were shouting questions at their group.
“Abortion is not healthcare,” the woman in front of Holly said. Her voice was calm and kind, and Holly wondered how she stayed so composed. Her own nerves were bunching together like a ball of yarn.
“Forcing a woman to have a child she doesn’t want isn’t healthcare either,” the woman spat back.
“But there are other options, like adoption.” Holly could not believe the words had come out of her mouth, and she wanted to slap her hands over her lips. What was she doing?
The woman turned a sneer on Holly. “A pregnancy costs money — doctor visits and vitamins. Some people can’t afford that. Besides, have you seen how many kids are in the foster system? People don’t adopt in this country.”
“That’s not true,” Holly said, shaking her head. “You’re right that our foster system is overburdened and we should do more to help them, but there are many parents who are looking to adopt babies. We don’t have enough for them to adopt. Parents can wait years for a baby to come up for adoption, and most adoptive agencies will help cover the costs of doctor visits and prenatal care. Why take a life when there are people wanting those lives? Women who can’t have children naturally would love to have the opportunity to be a mother.” Tiffany’s face popped into her head. She and Israel had been waiting three long years to adopt. They were finally getting their baby in the next few weeks.
“You don’t look familiar. If I were you, I’d get out before they brainwash you completely.” With that, the woman snapped Holly’s picture and then turned to harass someone else.
“That was great,” Ashley whispered when they were out of earshot of the woman.
It didn’t feel great. Inside, Holly was shaking and wondering what on earth she was doing. “Why did she take my picture?”
Ashley shrugged. “I’m sure it’s an intimidation tactic. I think they hope that by taking our pictures, they’ll convince us to stop coming out and praying.”
A stone settled in Holly’s stomach as she listened to Ashley’s words. They were spared a lot of the issues that plagued big cities in their small tourist town, but Holly had heard about the cancel culture making the rounds. What if the woman used her picture to try and cancel her or her business? “I don’t think I should have come. If they post my picture on social media, I could lose customers. Or worse.” She couldn’t even pinpoint what “or worse” might entail, but she was sure it wouldn’t be good.
“Don’t worry,” Ashely said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I’ve been doing this for a couple of months and no one has come after me at work or anywhere else. Most aren’t brave enough to even have a conversation. If seeing you praying for life makes someone not want to eat at the restaurant, are those really the customers you want anyway?”
Holly sighed. “I suppose not, but that’s why we don’t ask customers about issues like this. We serve the food and that’s all.”
“And serving food is great, but it’s not really serving God. Remember that you can’t take anything from this world with you when you go. Isn’t it more important to stand up for what’s right?”
Holly had thought so this morning. A part of her still did, she supposed, but there was another piece of her that worried this had been a very big mistake. And that part was now speaking louder than any other. She nodded and continued walking, but her mind was no longer focused on the task at hand. It was now worrying about all the “what-ifs.”