I’m going to be honest: you’ll see me out there in my ‘I Am the Pro-Life Generation’ shirt at pretty much every activism event under the sun; however, I often refrain from wearing my pro-life shirts in my neighborhood. There’s something about being vulnerable around people whom you see all the time that makes issues like abortion even harder to talk about.  

But recently, an accidental stroll in my new pro-life attire made me change my tune on this! Does a fear of what our neighbor might think change the importance of speaking the truth?  

Obviously, no! But I totally get it; having THAT conversation with your friend might be hard and easier to avoid. That’s where my head was at until I saw the power of planting seeds by allowing myself to be vulnerable, even in my own community.  

 

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It’s Okay to be Vulnerable

Last week, I was wearing my new favorite shirt, which says ‘The Future is Anti-Abortion’ on the back. I guess I forgot I was wearing it because the pro-life message is on the back of the shirt rather than the front, and around lunch time, I took my puppy out for a walk. Partway through, I had someone pass me by and turn to give me a thumbs up. I awkwardly returned the thumbs up, not yet understanding why.

A few moments later, a woman who was about to jog past me, stopped and said, “I’ve never heard it said that way before. What does your shirt mean?” I froze for a moment, remembering what was on my back: “The Future is Anti-Abortion.” 

I talked with this woman for maybe only 5 minutes, and I wasn’t even able to gather her opinion on abortion. I was, however, able to inform her about surgical and chemical abortion procedures, how abortion is violence, and why I thought women deserved better than that. I ended my little spiel with a thought on how I believe one day in the future, we will create a world in which abortion is unthinkable and where it is easier for women to choose life. She looked thoughtfully at me for a moment, commented on how she never thought of it like that, and then she was back to her jog. 

Who knows if I changed this woman’s mind right then and there? I probably didn’t, at least not completely. But, I planted a seed. And I was only able to do that because in that moment I was wearing my pro-life shirt! I think, from now on, I’m going to challenge myself to be bolder in my own community. People want to be talking about abortion, and we have a greater impact the more we strive to educate the people around us.  

So, I encourage you to have THAT conversation…or wear THAT shirt you have been afraid to wear around your friends and community. You never know – you may just plant the seed that changes someone’s life. 

If you are interested in learning more about defending your pro-life beliefs, reach out to your SFLA Regional Coordinator for an Apologetics training at [yourstate]@studentsforlife.org .

Or, if you’d like to order the shirt that started this conversation for me/any other cool pro-life gear, visit our store at https://sflashop.org/.