Prayers for Life Devotional: Day One

Seeing God in an Ultrasound By Mikelle Challenger "God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another." 1 Peter 4:10 (NLT) "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:4-5 (NLT) I remember when I first heard that a pregnancy center needed an ultrasound technician. I always wanted to serve the Lord with my registered nursing degree, but I never realized it was going to be through the lives of the unborn!   It was Sanctity of Life Sunday and I was sitting comfortably in my favorite spot in our church in Boca Raton, Florida.  I had always thought my calling was to the elderly, but as I sat listening that morning to the call for volunteers, my palms started sweating and my heart began to beat wildly. I felt that God was speaking right to me!  A new desire to serve God was beginning. It helped that my husband leaned over to me and said, "Mikelle, I can see you doing those ultrasounds"! I began volunteering as a sonographer, but I wanted to know that volunteering was what I was really supposed to do. The affirmation did not truly come until sometime later, during one of the last days of my training. My client that day was a teenage girl who came with her very angry mother.  Her story was complicated. The mother had an abortion when she was a teenager and it was a devastating experience for her.  She found out that she was pregnant again, at the age of 17. She had fought the pressure from her parents and had a baby girl, and now that child was pregnant out of wedlock.  I thought that the mother would have been pro-life due to her past experience, but she was all the more adamant that her daughter needed to have an abortion, and the sooner the better.  The daughter was silent and pale as she listened to her mother's tirade about how her future would be ruined if she kept this baby. Hopelessness crept over me as I realized that not only was the counseling we had offered ineffective, but the ultrasound seemed to have no impact on them either.  I found myself at a loss for words, so I just started praying that God would intervene! He alone could save the life of this unborn baby. I realized the mother had stopped talking and the daughter began to smile for the first time.  They were both looking at the ultrasound screen. I looked over to see a perfect profile of the baby, who seemed to be waving at us - back and forth and back and forth went its little hand.  I have never seen a fetus do this before or since that time. It was truly a miracle because of the amazing effect it had on not only on the daughter, but the mother as well! I never did hear what the final outcome was with that family, but I do know that all of us were crying as we entered the counseling room together.  Their hardened hearts had been softened by a living miracle from God that day! Today, I am still doing ultrasounds in a pregnancy center.  If I ever begin to doubt that God really called me to this ministry, I remember that teenage girl, over 1,000 miles away, five years ago.     I learned that day that counseling and ultrasound technology is nothing if we do not rely on Jesus.  He is the One who truly changes the hearts of the scared, hurt, and angry. We can draw encouragement from knowing that we are simply the instruments that He uses to change the hearts of women and men and save unborn children's lives.  We can remain in the Vine and trust that He will produce fruit through our actions. If you are currently serving the Lord with your gifts and talents, pray that the Lord blesses you with confirmation that you are exactly where He wants you to be.  As you serve, remember that you are the clay to be molded and worked by His potter hands. If you are not currently serving the Lord with your gifts and talents, pray that the Lord impresses on your heart exactly where He wants you to be serving. Pray that He will clearly show you in what way He wants you to give.  Now get ready, because you are a branch getting ready to bear fruit! Prayer: Lord, I am nothing without You.  Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and use the gifts you gave me to honor you. You are the vine and I am the branches; apart from Your power I can do nothing.   Amen. 44180 Riverside Parkway, Ste. 200 Lansdowne, VA 20176 V: 703-554-8749  F: 703-554-8735   E: acoolidge@care-net.org  W: care-net.org   Care Net   44180 Riverside Parkway  Suite 200  Lansdowne,  Virginia   20176   United States You received this email because you are subscribed to News and Updates from Care Net. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive.