But the lyrics have a lot to do, I think with how I feel about the women and children in House of Hope.
I don't get many things right the first time
In fact, I am told that a lot
Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls
Brought me here
And where was I before the day
That I first saw your lovely face?
Now I see it everyday
And I know
That I am
I am
I am
The luckiest
The women and children who have been rescued out of prostitution and live in the HOH are heartbreakingly lovely and tragic at the same time. For me, God made the HOH a simple question with a simple answer. Jesus said that if we do something for the least, we have done it for Him. Well, these women are the least.
Their society looks down on them. Their circumstances have compelled them. The 8, 9 and 10 year olds that have been raped, abused and scarred past the point of having children. They matter to God. The thirty year old woman that has 3 children and is in the first grade learning how to read after years and years of prostitution and alcohol abuse. She matters. The fifteen and 16 year olds that were in the park waiting for customers to sell their bodies for 5 dollars. Or maybe 6 if they got lucky.
Their stories and their circumstance compel me. I cannot sit by and pretend that I don't know that a 12 year old is pregnant and dependent on the HOH for her future and the survival of her child. I cannot call myself a follower of Jesus Christ and not hold the hand of a 9 year old and tell her she is beautiful although men have used her.
I cannot do nothing.
I had an interesting conversation with my friend Misty about the future of the women and children in such a circumstance. Because the question arises, is there anything that really can be done? Is the damage so harsh it's irreversible? The thing, I think is to remember that we are all made in the image of God. Even if there is damage that can never be reversed whether physical or mental or emotional, we all in our hearts want to be more than we are. We want to be better. So when the opportunity arises to offer change or a helping hand it should be offered. Everyone deserves the chance to try. To reach up for something more. Whether a person succeeds or fails is between them and God. But all of us, prostitutes or not stumble at some point in life and need help up.
And so I am really, the luckiest. To be able to look into the eyes of the girls and the women and know that I see the eyes of God looking back at me.
3 comments:
This makes my heart ache. In both good and painful ways. Man...we gotta talk about all of this. Seriously.
What I was saying is that my experience has left me forced to deal with the reality that people can be damaged to a point of no return--in terms of "doing better" or of "gaining independence." The darkness has taken that opportunity away from them. And, in terms of my worldview, that makes sense to me. However, and this is what I love, there is no other kind of human more important to love.
It didn't always seem to matter to Jesus what a person was going to become or even what they presently were . . . He just touched and loved and healed. Not to say that there isn't a place for success and betterment--because experience also tells me that people are remarkably resilient and many many many are able to make healthier choices and a better future. And Thank God that there are ways to give people those chances.
But, for those who just can't, it matters that they were loved by someone. I love that the Kingdom work is free from outcome-based objectives. It is enough to have loved . . . if it isn't, how can we explain the larger part of Jesus' life?
"... it matters that they were loved by someone..."
Yes, it does, and I love that Crystal has captured that very thing... the light in their eyes that comes from knowing you are loved. Above all else, it moves me that these women @ House of Hope learn that despite desperately deep wounds, they are loved.
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