By Carol Tobias, President

It’s that wonderful time of year that we look forward to celebrating several special occasions—Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, and New Year’s.  It’s a time when many start to reflect on the past months, taking stock of accomplishments and challenges, trying to figure out what we might want to do in addition, or in a different way, in the coming year.

This year’s Thanksgiving holiday will be very different for many of us.  Many church services will be canceled, but we will still give thanks to God for His many blessings.  Many of us will not spend Thanksgiving with loved ones, but thank heavens for Zoom.  Many will watch football or the Macy’s parade on TV, and most of us will eat too much with or without the fellowship of loved ones.

In September 1789, Congress passed a resolution requesting that “a joint committee of both Houses be directed to wait upon the President of the United States, to request that he would recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving.”

In keeping with the proclamation then set forth by President George Washington, I want to acknowledge, with a grateful heart, the many signal favors (blessings) in my life as president of this wonderful National Right to Life federation.

I am thankful for the NRLC staff. The staff is incredibly talented and unimaginably dedicated. They have put heart and soul into the work of saving babies and those who are medically dependent.  You will find no harder-working, more dependable women and men anywhere.

I am thankful for our state affiliates, for the pro-life leadership they provide within their state, organizing educational, legislative, and political activities with the end goal of protecting as many babies as possible within their state.

I am grateful for every one of our chapters around the country.  The more than 3,000  local chapters are the heart of NRLC, giving voices to the voiceless within their communities and providing a cheerful face to those looking for answers.

I am grateful for the resource centers who work with pregnant women facing a difficult time. These women need care and a loving embrace to get through an uncertain, unsettling period in their lives.

I am grateful for those church and community leaders who stand up for life, providing encouragement and inspiration to pro-lifers in their daily efforts.

I am grateful for our pro-life elected officials—President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, members of Congress, governors, and legislators.  It is through their efforts, working with the right-to-life movement, that we will one day see unborn children welcomed in life and protected in law.

Quite frankly, that is what pro-lifers do every day.  You are sharing time and resources to save innocent persons you may never meet.  You give to the less fortunate by extending a helping hand and providing words of encouragement.

As we finish out this year and look to the next, we can also be thankful that we have a loving, heavenly Father leading and guiding us, and we ask for His wisdom in all we do.

May God bless you and your loved ones, and may you have a blessed Thanksgiving!