Happy Thanksgiving! Another reason to be grateful in Ohio!

Dear Friend of Life,

As I set my Thanksgiving table this year, I found myself thinking of a story—one shaped by the hundreds of post-abortive mothers I’ve met over the years.

Martha always set her table for eight. But every Thanksgiving, she felt the quiet ache of the child she lost to an abortion in 1975—a child who would have been fifty this year. A child who might have had children and grandchildren of her own.

Martha had walked through healing. She knew God’s forgiveness. Yet every holiday, every special moment, she remembered.

And at Thanksgiving when her grandchildren run through the door shouting, “Grandma! We’re here!” she whispers a prayer that so many post-abortive mothers silently pray:

“Thank You for who is here, Lord. Help me honor who is missing.”

While mostly fictional, based on pieces of stories I’ve encountered, this tale reflects the real grief I see in mothers more often than I anticipate.

Nearly twenty years ago, when my dear friend Janie Klare first invited me to volunteer in the pro-life movement, I said yes for the babies. Raised in a pro-life family, I could finally put my faith in action. But what I quickly discovered is, I had no idea how deeply abortion wounds mothers and causes hidden lifelong regret. I had no idea how severely our nation has been decimated and damaged by abortion.

Entering into this work, originally for the babies, today I stay in the battle for the moms too. I stay in the battle for our nation. And of course, I stay in the battle to serve the Lord fully and completely.

And I can only stay in the battle and serve Cincinnati RTL because of you.

This Thanksgiving, I am deeply grateful for:

• Those who supported our move and strengthened our mission,
• Those who stand on sidewalks in every season and spiritual climate,
• Those who pray unceasingly, covering our work and families in prayer,
• Partners who staff and supply our ultrasound van,
• Sidewalk counselors who turn mothers from despair toward hope,
• Workers in the pregnancy centers across our region,
• Our billboard supporters whose anonymous impact will be revealed in eternity,
• Our event sponsors, and everyone who sends in extra funds that sustain our mission,
• Our lawmakers—the ones who listen and are deeply troubled about Cincinnati and the abortion tourism here-and they vote and act to end the injustice.

Because of you, Cincinnati Right to Life continues to stand as a legacy organization—boldly confronting tragedy and boldly proclaiming truth in our city, Columbus, and Washington, D.C.