Human Trafficking must STOP!

It's been awhile since I've written.  Life has had it's challenges, but faith has brought me through them.  Yet I find myself on a new journey.  A seed planted in my heart many years ago is breaking open and taking root.  I can see it poking through the soil of passion and I must write about it.

Human trafficking.  How?!  In this day and age of awareness and human rights how can it be that people are bought, sold and stolen to the benefits of others fleshly wants and desires?  How can any human think that using another human being for their own self-gratification is justified?  Yet, this atrocity is soaring to new heights in this supposedly "enlightened" age we live in.

Now my burden for such horrid acts on human beings must grow to something more affective.  No longer is it just a hearts cry to God to bring justice into an unjust and perverse world, it is an active mission in every fiber of my being to DO something.  I am praying for God to lead my steps as I step out in faith to act rather than to be bothered.

I wondered what I could do and I found a website with a petition to sign regarding kids being charged as criminals in an obvious sex trafficking arena.  So I started there and have been passing out the petition on facebook and through emails.  Here's the site too if anyone is reading this blog in the US.

http://www.change.org/petitions/state-lawmakers-kids-not-criminals-pass-safe-harbor-laws?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=url_share&utm_campaign=url_share_after_sign#

Then I thought of other ways to act.  I am an artist and therefore I have some ideas of making awareness fliers and posters.  So that's next.  Also I am reading to educate myself and sharing with everyone I know about being aware of those around us.  I put a contact number in my cell phone (1-888-373-7888) to report any suspicious activity or people I may suddenly "see" in my daily activities in the communities surrounding that meet the criteria.  Awareness opens our eyes to see things we would never notice before.  So word of mouth is an action.

My family has just moved to Texas and we know no one outside of family and a few of their friends.  So I must connect to others and get awareness out there too.  Every act is like a drop of water in a giant pond that causes a ripple effect.  With each person we share about Human trafficking it's like more drops of water in that pond.  Some day with much prayer and action and God's help, those of us who fight for those who cannot fight for themselves will become like a torrential rain storm on those who commit these horrid acts on humanity!  May God set these captives free and may we love them and nurture them to healing and wholeness by His love and with the power of His glory.

Look at your loved ones;  your children, nieces, nephews, sisters, brothers, mothers, daughters and grandchildren.  They could be the next targets of these sinister people.  We must fight to protect them and help those who are already victimized.  We must act.  It IS happening in our own back yard.

http://www.polarisproject.org
 http://www.endslaverynow.com/

Abandonment

Listening to a lonely dog howling this morning and my heart felt sorrow for this poor pup who was abandoned by her owners.  Red tape and laws create more isolation for this throw away friend.  As we approach her she runs away and hides from those who would try to help her.  It doesn’t make sense when she is so lonely.  Yet, it makes perfect sense.  She longs for her family to return for her.  Hopefully they will get here soon she thinks. She is hungry, thirsty and alone.  Too scared to go out to those who approach her with a helping hand of love and kindness. 

How often are we like this poor dog?  Do we not all experience abandonment at different points in our lives?  Abandoned by those who professed to love us, by those we trusted.  Love we had escapes our hearts and we are left feeling empty and alone.   Sometimes our own hearts abandon us.  We lose our confidence, our dreams, our aspirations and hopes, and are left reeling in doubt and discouragement.   Questions plague our minds.  Understanding and reason haunt our thoughts day and night.    

Abandonment puts up walls around our hearts to guard us against others we fear will do the same.  Fear and distrust become close companions but to our own demise.  We don’t always understand the why’s or how’s because most often, life doesn’t share the answers to its tests.

God, You said you would never leave us or abandon us.  If we were to go to the highest heavens You would be there.  Should we reach down to the deepest depths, there You would be also.  There is no hiding from Your presence.  In these times of abandonment when we feel alone, heart- broken, confused and lost, may we feel You right beside us.  May we find comfort in knowing that Your eye is always on us, that Your heart is ever loving us, and that there is hope in healing from these wounds that scar us.  Help us to not to be afraid, but to step out in courage and continue to take risks, knowing we could be hurt again.  Let us be so confident in Your faithfulness that we knock down those walls of isolation and distrust and live vulnerable to those around us.  Without faith it is impossible to please You.  Help us wounded warriors live with such faith that we can press into You through the heart ache of abandonment and take that pain and use it to love more passionately, live more fully, and trust more than is reasonable.  Help us to never lose hope in humanity and to see others through eyes of mercy.  May we not lean on our own understanding but trust You in everything.  Remind us that we are never alone.