A new year is upon us and for many that means a fresh start, a time to rethink past activities and make some needed changes to old habits, a time to hit the ground running.
Each year at this time I personally think of a word for the new year. This word may be one that inspires me, it may be one that reminds me of past activities I committed to do then neglected as life and all its busyness overwhelmed my calendar. Perhaps it’s a word that, after much thought and prayer, I have chosen to be my mantra for the year. A word that will guide my activities and thoughts.
I typically type the word in bold print and post it in a conspicuous spot, so I won’t forget what it is I want to focus on during the new year.
As the Executive Director for Right to Life of Kern County I’ve been thinking about what happened in 2022 and what I hope for in 2023.
2022 Reflection
The pro-life movement has certainly had an interesting past year. We celebrated and became frustrated all in a span of a few months.
- Celebrated Roe v. Wade being overturned in June of 2022
- Frustrated because Proposition 1 was passed in California in November
Within our own organization we had staff changes and dealt with the lingering aftereffects of the pandemic shutdown. But we never forgot that we still had a job to do.
2023 Projection
And now it’s 2023 and we still have a job to do to promote respect for the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. Now, more than ever, we have to keep the conversation going! The conversation for life. We cannot shy away from educating others on the horrors of abortion. We look forward to 2023 with anticipation as we focus on:
- Training Pro Life Proponents
- College Campus outreach activities
- The March for Life at the State Capital
2,500 babies lose their life to abortion in the United States, daily. This is tragic and something that cannot be ignored or pushed aside with the hope that someone else will be the one to have that conversation with the client going into the abortion clinic or that someone else will travel to Sacramento and encourage our legislators to vote pro-life.
It’s all about the WORD
The responsibility for being the voice for those who have no voice, belongs to each and every one of us. Understanding that the responsibility and realizing there is still much to do, I have chosen the following word for Right to Life of Kern County: CONTINUE.
Not a fancy word, but one that has so many underlining meanings. To continue means to endure, remain, stay, carry on, renew, persist, maintain and so many other meanings.
Well, now I have our word, but what does it really mean to CONTINUE. For us it means we will continue to stand for life, we will remain strong and follow our mission statement, we will persist in prayer and sidewalk advocacy, we will maintain our integrity and renew our passion for life.
We WILL continue to be the voice for those who have no voice.
What will your word be for this year?
Thank you for the commentary. Your choice of word would reflect one that comes to my mind, which is perseverance. I looked it up online and found this description: Perseverance commonly connotes effort and hard work to complete a goal despite barriers and obstacles. In the Christian sense, however, perseverance is a virtue. Perseverance involves fortitude (which is both a cardinal virtue and a gift of the Holy Spirit) and patience (which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit).
Pro-lifers certainly have been blessed with perseverance to keep up the good fight for life!
You are absolutely right, perseverance is what allowed pro-lifers to continue to speak out against Roe v. Wade. Even though it took almost 50 years to overturn, persverance paid off. And now we need to use the gift the Holy Spirit has given us to continue to speak up for life.
Happy New Year Joel.