I met Heather at my first Justice For All campus outreach. As I recall, she wasn’t too happy to meet me initially. It probably had something to do with the giant abortion photos I was standing in front of.
I approached Heather as she was standing in front of the exhibit, with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. I asked her, “So, what do you think of this exhibit?” She replied back through clenched teeth,
“You don’t want to know what I think!”
This is where my JFA dialogue training came in because prior to my JFA training, the old Jacob would have incited a heated debate right then. But the JFA training taught me to first ask questions. Second, listen to people's concerns and then try to build common ground in order to discuss the abortion issue in a productive manor. So, I told Heather,
“Actually, I do want to know what you think about this. I know that I believe in things that are false…I just wish I knew what they were. I’m here to seek out truth and I really do want to know what you believe on this issue and why.”
Well, you should have seen her face. She looked completely taken aback. From this point, Heather and I started a 15 minute conversation about abortion: what she believed and why she believed it. I hated the conversation ended so soon when she suddenly realized the time and said she was going to be late for class.
Heather asked me,
“Are you going to be around this afternoon?”
I told her,
“Absolutely!”
I often tell people, I wish I had two pictures of Heather. One picture of the Heather I first met on that day and another of the Heather who came back a couple hours later. She looked and acted like a whole different person.
Her statements went from, “I believe this about abortion…” to “So, I was asking a friend about abortion after class…” She not only was examining her beliefs, but she was questioning others and actively seeking out truth.
And that’s what the Justice For All training program is all about. "Train thousands to make abortion unthinkable for millions, one person at a time."
Will you join me?
