my hopeful heart.

 

hope

My post last night was missing something. Something crucial. And that is this:

There is hope. 

There are horrible injustices in the world everywhere we look. Human trafficking, racial inequality, torn-apart families, suicide, addiction, depression, physical and emotional abuse, bullying, starvation, car accidents, to name a few. Seeing that list, it can be so easy to feel like you’re suffocating in a world of pure evil. And while it may feel like that most days… There. Is. Hope.

What hope could there possibly be?

While I was part of a dance production that was bringing awareness to the sex slave trade, I was consistently asked one question:

How can we put a stop to it?

My answer was, and is, that we can’t. Not in this lifetime. The only way to stop it is to put an end to evil and sinful human nature. And what person, or group of people, powerful as they may be, could even begin to do that? Anyone?

Actually, yes. There is one. There is hope.

There is a man who has the power and authority to right all the wrongs of mankind. To bring hope to the hopeless. To bring justice to the wicked. To rescue the persecuted. His name is Jesus Christ and he is coming back for us, to save us and bring us home with him.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.  The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.  But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”    -Revelations 21:1-8

He is coming. Don’t give up hope. Someday he will bring healing, justice, peace, comfort, joy.

That is how I can face horrors like this and not have it destroy me. I have hope in something greater than myself. Hope that these atrocities will not go on forever.

Hope is a beautiful thing.

my broken heart

grief

I was at the grocery store the other day with Chloe. Going to the grocery store with a baby takes forever. Not because of the baby, but because of all the other people who want to admire said baby. It’s…err, she’s a great ice breaker but sometimes you just want to get your groceries and be done. After pausing awkwardly for the millionth person to smile and make faces at Chloe I wondered at what age does it become awkward for someone to smile and “aww” at a child.

And then I wondered when will be the first time my daughter is looked at inappropriately. My stomach twisted at the thought and I quickly shoved it away. Not something I need to worry about yet…

And then… Oh dear Lord, I can’t believe I’m about to write this next sentence.

And then I read a story about a 1 year old who had been rescued from someone who had trafficked her. A one year old. 12. Months. Old. A baby. Chloe is 9 months old…she’ll be 1 in 3 short months.

F*** no.

Babies are the purest form of human we’ve got. How can we live in a world where there is such ugliness as to take that innocent being and defile it in the gruesomest way?

My baby is soft and fragile and beautiful and adventurous and full of life and sweet, melt-your-heart smiles.

I cannot even fathom such an evil. It is not okay. It is so not okay.

The devastation that is sex trafficking has been heavy on my heart for years. I’ve spent hours reading books, doing online research, praying, bringing awareness to, and weeping for this issue. And then I kinda stopped. It was too much. I wanted to do more, I wanted to move to Amsterdam and be in the midst of it, but it wasn’t meant to be, and so since I couldn’t do more I just stopped. Then I became a wife and a mother and you know the drill.

But I’m done. Done with the stupid excuses. Especially now, because it’s personal. I want to fight for my daughter’s safety and all the other daughter’s out there. I don’t know how or what but I’ll find it. The mama bear I didn’t know was in me has been awakened and is thirsty for justice.

“we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.” -mlk jr

 

This post ends on a slightly hopeless note. Check out my my next post to hear about the hope that there is!