Warning: it's about to get real in here. Some prose written on a rough morning this week:
There is work to do but I don't want to do it today. People need me to be helpful & joyful, they need my smile but I don't have it today.
The familiar rock-in-the-pit-of-my-stomach feeling, the tears falling, the lost loneliness, and the "what-ifs" are all back to haunt me. He is back to steal my peace, my restful sleep, and my smile, that ugly, grasping demon of fear.
Perfect love is supposed to cast out fear. But where is perfect love in the anger, the rudeness, the loneliness, the death, the pain, the unknown? Perfect love feels far away.
Perfect love feels far away and yet He's right there to whisper again:
"Trust Me."
How do I trust you?
We're back to that question; the one I asked when the car sent the bike to the curb & me with it.
The one I asked when pride sent an engagement to the curb & my heart with it. The one I asked when they told me I didn't have a seat on the plane. The one I asked when a little girl died from a preventable disease. It's the question we ask when babies don't live to breathe air and bullets sent young men into the arms of Jesus too soon. How do I trust one I can't see when all I can see says He isn't trustworthy?
Perfect Love whispers: "faith, not sight"
Then where do I get faith if I can't see it?
Hearing the words of the one that wants my trust. He says He is trustworthy, He says He is good, He says He is Faithful. He says He loves me. He says He will be with me to the end of the age. I don't know how long that is, but it sounds long.
I've been meditating on what this means: "He has brought me to His banquet hall, and His banner over me is love." (Song of Songs 2:4) I dont' think it means a cozy, fairy tale princess perfect dinning room. But it means He is there.
And He changes everything.
He Comforts, He heals, He restores, He makes all things new, He sets free, and He loves me.
So that's how I trust Him. I stay in the banquet hall where His banner over me is love. I listen to His whisper & rest in His arms. I hope for restoration, for freedom, & for peace. He hopes with me and does things I can't even see. So I just stay put with my heart & my everything in those perfect, nail scarred hands.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
...plenty of hope :: part 2
My first post called "There is hope...plenty of hope" started out as sharing a video that encouraged me greatly. But I kept thinking about "Maria" & I put myself in her shoes as I often do when I hear stories. And from that place I realized what a beautiful picture her rescue is of my own rescue from the Kingdom of Darkness.
You see I was, we all were, born as victims of sin. And there we would have stayed for eternity but instead our magnificent rescuer came all the way into that skanky, dark, back ally brothel of sin, selfishness & pride to say "NO, not on my watch! She's mine! He's mine! I want them all!" And He brought us out into light, into freedom & into a place of restoration.
You see I was, we all were, born as victims of sin. And there we would have stayed for eternity but instead our magnificent rescuer came all the way into that skanky, dark, back ally brothel of sin, selfishness & pride to say "NO, not on my watch! She's mine! He's mine! I want them all!" And He brought us out into light, into freedom & into a place of restoration.
"He sent from on high,
He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity but the LORD was my stay.
He brought me forth also into a broad place;
He rescued me because He delighted in me."
Psalm 18:16-19
Thursday, August 15, 2013
There is hope...plenty of hope
In my post earlier this week I mentioned a lady named Laura Parker & the organization she helped found with her husband called Exodus Road. Yesterday she tweeted this video footage of a rescue mission by their Bravo Team in India. http://vimeo.com/72370568
The video brought tears to my eyes and made hope swell in my heart. Human trafficking is not just rapidly growing, ugly statistics. Human trafficking is ending. People are standing up to say "NO, Not on my watch! I won't turn a blind eye to this evil, I will fight it!" And those people aren't just white people from first world countries. Nationals are standing up to fight for freedom in India, in Cambodia, and in Thailand (to name a few). And victims are not only being rescued & restored for more to come in and take their place. Traffickers are being arrested & prosecuted. A message is being sent that it is unacceptable to treat God's beautiful creation this way. There is hope...plenty of hope.
But don't just watch the video & cheer! Ask God how you can be a part of more rescues like this one! If you need ideas, check out my post from Sunday.
Love & Blessings!
The video brought tears to my eyes and made hope swell in my heart. Human trafficking is not just rapidly growing, ugly statistics. Human trafficking is ending. People are standing up to say "NO, Not on my watch! I won't turn a blind eye to this evil, I will fight it!" And those people aren't just white people from first world countries. Nationals are standing up to fight for freedom in India, in Cambodia, and in Thailand (to name a few). And victims are not only being rescued & restored for more to come in and take their place. Traffickers are being arrested & prosecuted. A message is being sent that it is unacceptable to treat God's beautiful creation this way. There is hope...plenty of hope.
But don't just watch the video & cheer! Ask God how you can be a part of more rescues like this one! If you need ideas, check out my post from Sunday.
Love & Blessings!
Sunday, August 11, 2013
End It
I started learning about human trafficking in 2008 as I was preparing for my internship in Thailand. Since then, my eyes have been opened more & more to the size of this issue & the urgency of it. Some days I just want to jump on a plane and go bust into a brothel Laim Neeson/"Taken" style or SOMETHING! (No really, I actually thought about that one day during my run).
Then the Holy Spirit & common sense show up to remind me that doing something like THAT probably wouldn't be productive for anyone but there are things I can do right now. So for anyone else out there that is learning about this issue & getting mad about it like me, here are some ideas:
1) Pray: Why do we leave this as a last resort? Our prayers as children of the God of the Universe are powerful! "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." -Jesus in John 14:14
Pray for trafficking to end. Pray for courageous & just authorities around the world to have their eyes opened to what is happening in the back allies. Pray for hope, healing & rescue for the millions of men, women & children enslaved.
2) Give: Unlike Laim Neeson's character in Taken, those out on the field doing these rescues don't have unlimited financial resources. Maybe ask God if you can find a couple extra dollars to give to an organization fighting trafficking on the ground like the Hard Places Community or The Exodus Road.
3) Learn: Since I'm dreaming of someday being on the field in person doing something about this (don't worry mom, I have no plans to join a swat team or anything), I am doing a lot of reading. Once you start digging, you find there are a lot of organizations working to end this atrocity. That is encouraging and it means we don't have to reinvent the proverbial wheel. We get to learn from people that have gone before us about what works and doesn't work. The International Justice Mission is a great starting place to learn more about trafficking & some very practical work being done to end it. Another great resource is the Nefarious Documentary just know it is a very real picture of what is happening so it is painful to watch at times if you are like me. Individuals like Laura Parker are also great resources; she began The Exodus Road with her husband & blogs about their rescue missions. Following any of these organizations & resources on Twitter is a great way to find more of them. I love using technology to change the world!
4) Tell all your friends: I think a lot of people know that this is going on, but not a lot of people know there are literally millions of slaves in our world or that there is anything they can do about it. If you follow me on twitter (@heathergrace717) I may have already blown up your twitter feed with my re-tweets about abolition, justice & such. I want everyone to know that this is happening and that anyone can help end it!
Then the Holy Spirit & common sense show up to remind me that doing something like THAT probably wouldn't be productive for anyone but there are things I can do right now. So for anyone else out there that is learning about this issue & getting mad about it like me, here are some ideas:
1) Pray: Why do we leave this as a last resort? Our prayers as children of the God of the Universe are powerful! "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." -Jesus in John 14:14
Pray for trafficking to end. Pray for courageous & just authorities around the world to have their eyes opened to what is happening in the back allies. Pray for hope, healing & rescue for the millions of men, women & children enslaved.
2) Give: Unlike Laim Neeson's character in Taken, those out on the field doing these rescues don't have unlimited financial resources. Maybe ask God if you can find a couple extra dollars to give to an organization fighting trafficking on the ground like the Hard Places Community or The Exodus Road.
3) Learn: Since I'm dreaming of someday being on the field in person doing something about this (don't worry mom, I have no plans to join a swat team or anything), I am doing a lot of reading. Once you start digging, you find there are a lot of organizations working to end this atrocity. That is encouraging and it means we don't have to reinvent the proverbial wheel. We get to learn from people that have gone before us about what works and doesn't work. The International Justice Mission is a great starting place to learn more about trafficking & some very practical work being done to end it. Another great resource is the Nefarious Documentary just know it is a very real picture of what is happening so it is painful to watch at times if you are like me. Individuals like Laura Parker are also great resources; she began The Exodus Road with her husband & blogs about their rescue missions. Following any of these organizations & resources on Twitter is a great way to find more of them. I love using technology to change the world!
4) Tell all your friends: I think a lot of people know that this is going on, but not a lot of people know there are literally millions of slaves in our world or that there is anything they can do about it. If you follow me on twitter (@heathergrace717) I may have already blown up your twitter feed with my re-tweets about abolition, justice & such. I want everyone to know that this is happening and that anyone can help end it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)