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Only Love

Only Love by Kristin Van Spankeren

Kristin Van Spankeren is Pro-Life Wisconsin’s student intern on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

 I am currently in a biological sciences class about HIV/AIDS in society. For an assignment, I watched a documentary about an AIDS advocacy group – Act Up – that worked in New York City in the height of the AIDS epidemic. The group consisted of mainly HIV positive individuals who petitioned the federal government and FDA for better treatment options while thousands were dying due to a lack of effective drugs and awareness about the virus.

 Over time this powerful group was certainly successful in delivering drugs and speeding up the process of research. Act Up was the first organization of its kind and played a large role in prolonging lives and providing hope. However, to me there was one key issue with their work: Act Up rallied around anger. Their frustration in the lack of awareness and treatment of the virus was the motivation of their campaign. Even more, anger was celebrated. Anger was encouraged. Anger became the center of their work, and definitely had an effect on the delivery of their message and the community around them.

 Now, I’ve never been personally affected by HIV/AIDS in my life, but there is a public issue that I do get very angry about: abortion. I’m sure a lot of you find yourself in the same position. Oftentimes it’s very difficult for me to be respectful to my “pro-choice” friends in conversation about the topic. It’s hard for me to understand where they are coming from without becoming bitter or judgmental.  But imagine, what if our pro-life campaigns were centered on this anger? What kind of progress would we make in spreading Christ’s love for life if we focused on hatred for those who do us wrong? Act Up did do a lot of positive work, but eventually its celebration of anger and frustration caused the group to become dysfunctional and break apart. Members could not reach agreement, and people just became angry with each other.

 I would argue that both Pro-Life Wisconsin (and other pro-life groups) and Act Up are organizations that fight for the longevity of the human life. However, we pro-lifers choose to celebrate love, not anger. We must not deny the hate and anger that exist due to abortion in our society; I think the legality of abortion will always make me angry. But we must internalize this: “hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” We must channel our anger into love – love for the unborn, love for those who just don’t understand. Our commitment to loving the unborn, their mothers and fathers, and the pro-abortion community in a warm, Christ-centered way is what will ultimately end abortion.

Do it anyway

Do it anyway by Kristin Van Spankeren
Kristin Van Spankeren is Pro-Life Wisconsin’s student intern on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

“But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even His life to love us. So, the mother who is thinking of abortion should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts.” –Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta

Blessed Mother Theresa has always been a role model of mine. Like many, I admire her selflessness, simplicity, and love for the poor. It was not until I read her biography Come Be My Light that I learned of her resilient obedience to Jesus and 20-year struggle of internal darkness. Needless to say, my fondness of Jesus’ “little one” continues to grow and grow.

 People around the world – Catholic or not – praise Blessed Mother Teresa for her work. She has received countless prestigious honors, including the Nobel Peace prize. When she received the prize, she was asked, “What needs to be done to promote world peace?” Her answer? “Go home and love your family.”

 I’m sure many people complied with her request. Hopefully husbands and wives were inspired to care for each other with more compassion, and devote more time and energy to their children. To Blessed Mother Teresa, you should put Christ’s love into action in your home and daily life; you don’t have to go to the slums of Calcutta.

 Now, what I’m not sure of is how many of her supporters understand or agree with what she also means in loving the family – protecting the innocent in the womb. This Nobel Peace prize recipient gets it – you can’t promote world peace by intentionally killing the most vulnerable of humanity. You can’t foster loving families that form our societies by terminating our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, fellow community members. Blessed Mother Teresa knew that love and peace begin in the smallest of ways, smallest of actions – smiling at your neighbor, holding the door for a stranger, etc. Especially when you don’t want to. In any scenario, she would tell you to “do it anyway”:

“People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered; 
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.”

If you ask me, the smallest of the small are those vulnerable in the womb. So, if peace and love begin with loving your family and doing the small things, then peace and love surely must begin by protecting the unborn in our families. We need to foster societies in which we will give of ourselves and love “until it hurts.” I think most can agree that this little, most humble nun of the poor had some good things to say about world peace. Yes, giving until it hurts will be hard. Yes, it may be inconvenient for you. Yes, setting aside your life to love another will take everything you have. You won’t want to do it.

We should listen to her anyway.

Happy BIRTHday

Happy BIRTHday

Kristin Van Spankeren is Pro-Life Wisconsin’s student intern on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

 Today is my 21st birthday, and I must say, I’m awfully ecstatic. I went to adoration, enjoyed some apple cider, got to eat lunch with my mom, celebrate with my friends, and a favorite bluegrass band of mine happens to be coming to town. It is going to be a great day!

Although these birthday activities are exciting and good, I think we often forget the meaning of birthdays. Today, I take some time to thank God for giving me life, and for parents who love me and accepted me into this world. Birthdays are obviously something that our culture celebrates and views as special, but somehow the root of the word seems to be missing importance. It confuses me – how can birthdays exist as holidays at the same time they are being taken away due to abortion? To me, if birth is something we celebrate, abortion should not exist.

 So, I encourage you to take time today to be thankful for the simple yet beautiful gift of life that you were given how many years ago, and pray for those who were not given this special day due to abortion.

Only Instruments

 Kristin Van Spankeren is Pro-Life Wisconsin’s student intern on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

“…the issue of the world does not depend on us but is in God’s hands.” – Pope Benedict XVI

I often feel very small working in the pro-life movement. In a left-leaning town such as Madison, I question my ability to make even the slightest change to the culture of death. As I type away in this coffee shop, I look around me, pondering how many customers share the same pro-life views as me. Probably not very many, I conclude, and the lonesomeness creeps in. But maybe it’s not their fault, I continue. Maybe they haven’t even been introduced to the truth. Maybe they have never been shown this real love. It’s possible they are on my side, but the odds are against me. The discouragement builds, because as someone equipped with the truth, it’s my responsibility to love these people with it. But there are 25 of them (yes, I counted), and only one of me. What’s a girl to do?

And yet I feel even smaller when I remember that abortion does not plague only my city. Abortion is legal in our country, and we just re-elected a strongly pro-abortion president who promises to ensure Planned Parenthood continues to fuel America’s culture of death. Abortion is legal around our world, and is steadily gaining more power and popularity – new private clinics are opening in an “abortion-free” Ireland, and gendercide continues to flourish in China and India, eliminating thousands of girls each year.

Looking at the big picture, our world is pro-abortion, and I am not.

I know there are many others like me (praise God), but constantly I feel as if I carry the most beautiful yet cumbersome secret to genuine beauty, love, and human freedom …and no one cares to know. I am continually confused and overwhelmed by this. Can’t they see its brightness? Why dwell in the darkness when this light is for all? Come share in this stunning miracle of human life! I want to scream to these café patrons, but fear keeps me quiet. How am I to share this secret with the world if it’s too hard to share with my fellow coffee drinkers?

I pause, glance around the shop, and put things into perspective. Kristin, you are small for a reason. This isn’t all up to you. It is up to God. Our hope in ending abortion does not lie in pro-life advocates, no matter how well they speak. Our hope does not depend on being the best sidewalk counselor there ever was, no matter how many babies we may save. Our hope does not rest in politicians, despite how much legislative power they have. And our hope does not lie in our own capabilities to change the world, and certainly not my chances of changing 25 hearts in a coffee shop.

These efforts to ending abortion are all good, but stopping this evil in our world does not rest on people – it is up to the mercy of God. We are solely his instruments, and must be open to whatever little way he inspires us to share His truth and love. From prayer and fasting to simple conversation, we must find peace in whatever He puts on our heart to do. No act of love is too small for God, not even blogging in a coffee shop.

Reaching out to people with pro-choice views

SLED

Kristin Van Spankeren is Pro-Life Wisconsin’s student intern on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

As a pro-lifer, having conversations about abortion with someone who is pro-choice is rather difficult for me. How do I share the truth? What if he or she isn’t religious? How do I remain respectful and open-minded? Knowing what to say and how to say it – with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, of course – is important in working to change hearts.

I recently came across an article in a publication from the nonprofit pro-life group Human Life Alliance that’s worth sharing, especially for when you are at a loss for words. The article (copied in the link below) shares a clever acronym that is easy to remember in conversations about abortion. It works by stating the four differences between a preborn and newborn child – size, level of development, environment, and degree of dependency – and that these differences do not justify the legality of abortion (as if anything could).

 Take environment for example. One pro-choice argument is that terminating the child would be better than raising him in a poorer community with less educational resources and opportunities. However, what about a three-year-old child that is already living in that community? Would it be justifiable to end that child’s life because of the environment around him? Of course not, and even asking the question disgusts me. The article proposes other arguments like this one, and makes us think, “What really is the difference between the preborn and us?” I think this can be very influential in helping people to realize the true humanness of a child in the womb, as dehumanizing the preborn child as “just a clump of tissue” is a typical pro-choice argument. Please click here to learn these quick-to-remember and yet very powerful arguments about how we all “share a common human nature.”

Perserverance in Sharing the Truth

Kristin Van Spankeren is Pro-Life Wisconsin’s student intern on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

I have always been a people pleaser. I tend to go out of my way to try to make everyone in a group happy. I try my best to be joyful and make people smile. I listen with an open mind and warm heart. I never want to chance hurting someone’s feelings. I am usually the one quick to apologize, and I actually fear the possibility of making someone feel unloved or angry.

 As a new member of the pro-life movement, I am learning you can’t always be a people pleaser in Madison, Wisconsin.

 Madison is one of the most liberal cities in the United States. What’s more, it’s one of the most liberal college towns in the country. Fueled by both the ever-present counterculture demonstrations of the 60’s and 70’s and new, young populations of powerful, progressive thinkers, Madison continues to thrive as a liberal-minded town through-and-through.

 Subsequently, Madison tends also to flourish as a city of pro-choicer’s, nurturing a culture of death in our community and state. As a pro-life, UW-Madison student, this environment sometimes makes me uncomfortable. As a pro-life, people pleaser, this environment often makes me very uncomfortable. I don’t like to tell people they’re wrong or dismiss opinions. I would rather just nod, smile, share my beliefs, and carry on – especially when it comes to a topic that is deemed “controversial.” However, once you are equipped with the truth, you uphold the responsibility of sharing it fully, no matter what the cost.

 As a pro-life people pleaser in a pro-choice community, sharing the truth about the value of life scares me. I fear making people angry in a discussion about abortion. I fear catalyzing poor attitudes towards the pro-life name. I also selfishly fear for my reputation, for my friendships, for my future. Overall, I guess I fear persecution. I think a lot of us may be caught in this trap, because we know we are fighting out of love for our preborn brothers and sisters, but many times society sees it as a judgmental condemnation. We know we are living out the truth, but the world – or even our closest friends and family – disagree. We want to foster a culture of love, but often times do not receive love in return.

 This is why we must turn to God in the temptation of fear, because I surely know I cannot do it alone. He will not let rivers sweep over us, nor let fire set us ablaze (Isaiah 43:2) in fighting the good fight. Christ will protect and guide us, and we need Him as a model of perseverance in sharing the truth. We should always recall He was persecuted for us, and now we must be willing to be persecuted for Him. Maybe not all will be pleased initially with the truth about life, but He will, and you never know whose hearts He will change through your courage and love for Him.

Stories from the Sidewalk: Finding hope in the midst of despair

  • October 19, 2012
  • By:

Kristin Van Spankeren is Pro-Life Wisconsin’s student intern on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. She wrote the following reflection after a recent sidewalk counseling encounter.

I’m not exactly sure how I ended up on this sidewalk. It’s 40 degrees, and my legs are shaking. The Friday sun is setting, and I should have fun plans with my friends. In between praying  Glory Bes and Our Fathers, my stomach growls, and I dream about the warm dinner I could be eating. I stare at my feet, glued to a rather disheartening piece of cold concrete. This is not a normal college student activity, I tell myself. But then I hear a car speed around the corner. I pick up my head, force a smile, and ask the Holy Spirit to take over.

The car slows down, and the man in the driver’s seat rolls down the window just a hair. I walk toward the car and, with trembling hands, pull a pamphlet about fetal development out of my pocket. I widen my smile, make eye contact, and try to meet the couple before me with love.

“Hi my name is Kristin, and this is for you.”

My offer is quickly ignored. All I receive in return is an angry grimace from the man, and a sort of hopeless, longing, and disinterested gaze from the young woman next to him. He steps on the gas and speeds to a back corner spot of the Planned Parenthood parking lot.

My heart sinks into my stomach and I think I may vomit. The Hail Marys for the couple begin in my head immediately – my brain’s automatic reaction these days for a seemingly failed sidewalk counsel attempt.

However, a seasoned sidewalk counselor is used to days like these. This is not a failure, I remind myself. This is planting a seed of hope, of possibility. This may be the only tiny act of love their child might receive in this world. And no act of love is too small for God; no act of love is too small for this family. I keep praying, and fight the temptations of the devil –words that tell me this is worthless, that I should give up, and that I’m a crazy fool for standing out here in the cold.

In my prayer, I am reminded of St. John the Apostle – the patron saint of Vigil for Life, which is Pro-Life Wisconsin’s Dane County affiliate. St. John was present at the crucifixion of Christ. No, he wasn’t there to stop the killing of his Lord and his friend. But he was present. He loved Christ through and through and was a witness to His love and truth.

We, too, are witnesses to truth on the sidewalk, and we must persevere in love.

You can help save lives – now!

  • October 1, 2012
  • By:

Kristin Van Spankeren is Pro-Life Wisconsin’s intern on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. She is playing a key role in organizing Madison’s 40 Days for Life campaign. This week, Kristin urges pro-lifers to participate in their local campaign.

40 Days for Life – September 26 – November 4 – is an important, nationwide initiative that focuses on ending abortion through three components: prayer and fasting, community outreach, and constant vigil at a local abortion clinic.

According to the 40 Days website, this year’s campaign is the “largest and longest internationally coordinated pro-life mobilization in history.” And with eight locations in Wisconsin hosting their own 40 Days campaign – Appleton, Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, Mauston, Milwaukee, Stevens Point, and Wausau, there are numerous ways to get involved and continue to encourage and spread the pro-life movement across our state.

Inspired by the three components of 40 Days, here are some different ways you can get involved:

1. Prayer and fasting: Jesus said that prayer and fasting are necessary for eliminating certain demons. Consider praying short, simple daily devotionals (http://www.40daysforlife.com/getinvolved.cfm) for various intentions that promote the culture of life in our world. Fasting is physical prayer that offers God a sacrifice and asks him for His grace and strength to fight His battle for babies and families. We must also remain spiritually-full and armed to be prayer warriors. Make certain to turn to God in these 40 Days.

2. Community Outreach: Spread the word about 40 Days and pro-life opportunities. Start small and tell your friends and family. Reach out to your church community. Advertise in the weekly bulletin. Create flyers for community news boards. Be creative in educational efforts. Invite people to have the opportunity to help save lives with you. Please contact Pro-Life Wisconsin at 262-796-1111 for helpful resources, literature, and more for your community.

3. Constant vigil: Statewide, thousands of scheduled vigil hours must be filled. In some locations that means at least two prayer warriors outside the site 24 hours, seven days a week. Your sacrifice is one of the most visible parts of 40 Days as it is prayerful witness to the clinic workers, clients, and surrounding community of God’s love amidst such an evil. Consider taking an hour each week, or whatever you can do to help. Check out the vigil sites in your area at the 40 Days link below:
http://www.40daysforlife.com/location.cfm

Please use the contact information provided in the link above to ask questions and get involved in whatever way you can. Your prayer and fasting, outreach, and vigil sacrifices are doing beautiful things for our brothers and sisters – you are saving lives.

Campus Connection: So, you’re “pro-choice”?

  • September 21, 2012
  • By:

Kristin Van Spankeren is Pro-Life Wisconsin’s college intern at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This week, she’ll bring us a reflection on her efforts to build a Culture of Life at a very pro-abortion campus.

Today while doing homework at the UW’s Union South, I noticed a display table behind me for the registered student organization, Sex Out Loud. Although I knew I would disagree with their mission, I truly did not know what the organization does for students (other than give out free condoms to any passerby, that is). I decided to walk over and have a chat.

I was handed a brochure with a colorful presentation of condoms on the cover, and I asked what the group was all about. I learned that Sex Out Loud’s mission is “to promote healthy sexuality through sex-positive education and activism.” My peer also emphasized that sex is a “personal choice,” and that students have the right to choose to be sexually active. Once that choice is made, Sex Out Loud is there to walk them through the “safe sex” process, such as choosing the “best” birth control option for each student.

“But what about abstinence?” I asked. “Isn’t that a choice? What do you teach about choosing to not have sex?”

I learned that the group does not provide a specific program about choosing abstinence. While they do mention it to be an option for a couple, they do not educate on how to make that choice, and why you would want to remain chaste. Instead, the group provides other presentations, such as how to properly use a condom and methods to please your partner.

Are these limited programs really reflecting the notion that sex is a “personal choice” like my peer said? If my fellow students are not educated about the physical, spiritual and emotional benefits of chastity, they lack true freedom to make an authentically personal choice.

To close, I’d like to share this video from Reason TV at the Democratic National Convention that exposes this myth of “choice” on a grander scale.

How Pro-Choice are Democrats?

New pro-life website designed for smartphones

  • June 18, 2012
  • By:

Pro-Life Wisconsin has unveiled a brand new crisis pregnancy website!

The website, crisispregnancies.org, is designed primarily to be used by those with smartphones (iPhone or an Android operating system, for example). It is also accessible by computer.

The website utilizes a mapping feature to list nearby crisis pregnancy centers, along with the harms of abortion and fetal development information.

There are endless opportunities for this new website — sidewalk counselors can use it to find and locate a nearby crisis pregnancy center, students in class can use it to discuss the harms of abortion or counsel an abortion-minded friend.

Bookmark and share this website for you or someone you know!

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