It was the Summer of 2006, and I wanted to find a job serving coffee.
I was heading to law school that Fall, and I was told that it would be the three hardest years of my life. “So, buckle up…” my friends who were already there said, “better have fun now!” It was a little unnerving …so, I set my sights on having some serious fun. I decided I would serve coffee at Starbucks.
In college, I was known as “the Starbucks girl.” If my friends didn’t find me in the student center of my college church, they found me in a local coffee shop. When I thought about it, I honestly couldn’t imagine a more perfect summer: I’d be serving up frappachinos, cappachinos and Americanos, and hanging out with my wonderful boyfriend and friends in the North Dallas area.
Early in the summer, I turned in applications at several different coffee shops in my area and attended a handful of different interviews. I remember a number of managers patting me on the back, saying “you’d be a great addition to our team…we’ll give you a call back!” But then, 3 weeks went by…and nothing. I would call back and ask them,“are you still deciding? Any news?” And I got back a plethora of odd responses: One location lost my application. Another fired their manager. Others had other random excuses. There I was – with a Bachelor of Arts from Texas A&M University in Political Science and Spanish, plus a graduate certificate in International Affairs and a wealth of leadership experience – and I couldn’t get a job in a coffee shop to save my life.
It was getting well into June when money was running out, and I got frustrated. I went to my boyfriend, Peter, to ask what I should do. It was actually his mother who suggested that I go to the local Diocesan pro-life committee (known as the “Catholic Pro-Life Committee of North Texas” or “CPLC”) in Dallas to see if they had any legal work for me.
I’m heading to law school to be a pro-life attorney, anyway…maybe I’m called to get started a bit earlier, I thought.
So, I put a call into the organization, and a nice lady answered. When I told her that I was heading to law school that Fall and would like to do some pro-life legal work for them, she asked about some of my prior experience in the pro-life movement up until that point.
I told her that I had been involved in college with an interdenominational organization called the Brazos Valley Coalition for Life in Aggieland. The Coalition for Life – under the leadership of David Bereit, and later, Marilisa and Shawn Carney – was known throughout the country for its year-round “stand & pray” program, where they covered the local Planned Parenthood abortion facility in prayer during business hours; they were also known for their renowned sidewalk counseling program, where trained volunteers would – peacefully and prayerfully – offer loving alternatives to the women going into the abortion center. I had been trained as a regular prayer volunteer and sidewalk counselor under that organization. Similarly, under the leadership of the Coalition for Life, I had the great grace of experiencing the very first 40 Days for Life campaign which had been introduced to our college area in the Fall of 2004.
In the years leading up to that first 40 Days for Life campaign, I remember how I would sidewalk counsel many of those “abortion mornings,” and rarely, anyone would come to the fence when I would call out to them. You see, I was very peaceful and prayerful in my personal approach, but I was part of a crowd that was very apprehensive and disorganized. For example, we had a man who would dress up like the Grim Reaper and pace back and forth in front of the abortion facility! While I knew he had good intentions, I realized just how much we – collectively – looked like a circus! I realized that I had been guilty by association — we didn’t know how to properly respond to the problem of abortion in our community. We didn’t know how to deal with the fact that we knew we were losing members of our human family at this Planned Parenthood in our little college town. And looking back now, I’m not sure I blame any women in a crisis pregnancy for not coming over to talk to me at the fence – she was scared, hormonal, and confused. Why would she approach a circus of people and feel safe in pouring her heart out to me?
It wasn’t until the Fall of 2004 when the leadership of the Coalition for Life realized they weren’t having much effect on the abortion numbers in our community and gathered around an old wooden table to pray for an hour. It was during that hour of prayer that the Lord laid on their hearts this idea of “40 Days for Life” — namely, that they should turn to back to God with prayer & fasting; a peaceful, constant 24/7 40-day prayer vigil in front of the local abortion facility; and ask fellow believers to join them in their efforts.
Gradually, the odd techniques used on “abortion morning” in front of that Planned Parenthood center dissipated, and it was replaced by a presence that was more peaceful, prayerful and purposeful than anything we had ever seen. I had fond memories of going out to that first 40 Days for Life vigil to take prayer hours around the clock with my boyfriend, Peter, and friends from our church. Later, it was learned that after that first 40 Days for Life in Aggieland, the abortion rate in that college community dropped by a whopping 28%! I also noticed that more women were coming to the fence to talk, both on abortion days and non-abortion days. This transformation in the faithful, pro-life community was my shining example.
So, I shared highlights of all of this with the woman who took my information at the CPLC in Dallas. She thanked me and said they would give me a call back.
Interestingly, the person who called me back was a woman named Carol. She said that she was their sidewalk counseling director.
“You used to sidewalk counsel, right?” she asked.
“Yes,” I told her.
She said, “Lauren, we are in desperate need of sidewalk counselors. We try to cover all six Dallas-area abortion centers with a couple sidewalk counselors during business hours, and we are short. Would you consider sidewalk counseling full-time with us?”
I hesitated. After all, there was no way I could volunteer full-time and survive without a job.
“Carol, I’m sorry, I would love to help, but I really need a full-time job to make ends meet this summer and prepare for law school.”
“No, no, Lauren, we’ll cover that. We can give you a stipend for the summer.”
I stopped. I didn’t know what to say. After all, it didn’t fit with anything I was hoping to do that summer. Sidewalk Counseling full-time didn’t exactly fit into my idea of “fun.”
“Do you mind if I think and pray about it and give you a call back, Carol?”
“Sure,” she said. We thanked each other and hung up.
Unsure of what to do, I called my boyfriend. “Pete – um, so the person that called me back was their sidewalk counseling director, Carol. And when they found out I was a trained sidewalk counselor and did it all through college, she asked if I wanted to do it full-time with them. I don’t know what to do. It’s not what I wanted to do this summer – not exactly my idea of fun. And I feel bad, honestly, for taking money for something I used to do as a ministry.”
But Peter said something I will never forget. He said, “Sweetheart, maybe God has different plans for you this summer. And don’t feel bad about taking the money – because you wouldn’t be able to survive and serve in this role, anyway.”
That hit me like a ton of bricks. Maybe I was so wrapped up in my own ideas that I wasn’t seeing how God was leading me down a very special path.
I called Carol back and accepted the position.
I knew I would likely have more contact with clients this time, knowing the easier access via public sidewalks in Dallas, as well as the very peaceful prayer presence that the CPLC promoted around sidewalk counseling. Because I finished college and my graduate certificate soon after 40 Days for Life showed up, I had done the bulk of my sidewalk counseling before the atmosphere on the sidewalk had become much more conducive to conversation with the women servicing the abortion center in Aggieland. As shared before, it was almost impossible to speak to a woman on a Planned Parenthood “abortion morning” due to the tense atmosphere; additionally, we didn’t have great access to the clients because of the set-up of the clinic. If a woman was willing to speak to us, she had to take it upon herself to ignore the Planned Parenthood escorts (those designated by the abortion center to walk over to clients after they parked and engage them in conversation so they wouldn’t talk to us), cross the parking lot, and walk over to the fence. Due to these circumstances, I had only successfully spoken to a handful of clients during my time in college. Still, I carried the transformative peaceful, prayerful example of 40 Days for Life into my coming adventure that summer and beyond.
Days after accepting the new position, I watched the CPLC training video as a refresher sidewalk counseling training, and I hit the pavement in the hot Dallas sun every day, traveling between the six area abortion facilities, and – peacefully and prayerfully – offering loving alternatives to women and families going into the abortion center.
I had no idea just how much that summer would change my life.