A
battlefield, warrior mindset – that is the way I was created. When I imagine my
life, I imagine a raging war taking place around me, and I see myself running
wide-eyed, fist clenched, running fast into the center of the action. When I was
fourteen years old, I discovered my calling to mental health. Depression,
anxiety and self-harm were evident before me, and I saw a need in the world
that required something of me to seek change on their behalf… I was determined
to speak life into people who find themselves struggling, and to encourage them
to keep breathing...
When I was seventeen years old, I set sail for my first trip to the Red Light District of Amsterdam and I saw women dealing with the same issues but in a different setting. Prostitution held them captive, and it appeared that the enemy had them, and that city, on a tight leash. I have never felt more alive than I did in that Red Light District, and I realized that it would be my home around the world. Those were my girls, and I would do anything to help them. In the midst of it all, I was warned to “be careful” and “stay safe.” But fear of the war was the last thing on my mind. I’ve never been afraid to hop a plane to a foreign country, or to travel with a group of strangers. I’ve never been afraid to walk into an Asian bar and sit down with a broken girl on her night shift. I’ve never been afraid of the lurking men or the things that “could” happen. Aware? Yes, indeed. But afraid? Never.
If you were to ask me about my deepest fear, it would be to miss out on the things Jesus has chosen me to do. I am afraid to live a comfortable lifestyle with a bunch of money and no eternal impact. I’m afraid to sit back and expect someone else to do what I am so obviously cut-out to do. Over the last year, I’ve become a feminist... Once I explain what it means to really be a feminist, I bet you’ll be one as well. I believe in educating and empowering women all over the globe. I believe women are powerful and smart and embody specific characteristics of God’s nature. I believe every human being was created with divine purpose, including women, and therefor deserve to have a voice. I believe empowering women to learn who they are in Christ will radically change the economy, the job market, the education system, the political system and the family. I believe education and knowledge are power and girls, all over the world, should have the opportunity to learn. When one girl catches a spark of what she was created for and what she is capable of, she is quick to pass along the fire to other girls, thus illuminating the darkness. She deserves a chance. She deserves a voice. I will not stop fighting until she gets it.
When I was seventeen years old, I set sail for my first trip to the Red Light District of Amsterdam and I saw women dealing with the same issues but in a different setting. Prostitution held them captive, and it appeared that the enemy had them, and that city, on a tight leash. I have never felt more alive than I did in that Red Light District, and I realized that it would be my home around the world. Those were my girls, and I would do anything to help them. In the midst of it all, I was warned to “be careful” and “stay safe.” But fear of the war was the last thing on my mind. I’ve never been afraid to hop a plane to a foreign country, or to travel with a group of strangers. I’ve never been afraid to walk into an Asian bar and sit down with a broken girl on her night shift. I’ve never been afraid of the lurking men or the things that “could” happen. Aware? Yes, indeed. But afraid? Never.
If you were to ask me about my deepest fear, it would be to miss out on the things Jesus has chosen me to do. I am afraid to live a comfortable lifestyle with a bunch of money and no eternal impact. I’m afraid to sit back and expect someone else to do what I am so obviously cut-out to do. Over the last year, I’ve become a feminist... Once I explain what it means to really be a feminist, I bet you’ll be one as well. I believe in educating and empowering women all over the globe. I believe women are powerful and smart and embody specific characteristics of God’s nature. I believe every human being was created with divine purpose, including women, and therefor deserve to have a voice. I believe empowering women to learn who they are in Christ will radically change the economy, the job market, the education system, the political system and the family. I believe education and knowledge are power and girls, all over the world, should have the opportunity to learn. When one girl catches a spark of what she was created for and what she is capable of, she is quick to pass along the fire to other girls, thus illuminating the darkness. She deserves a chance. She deserves a voice. I will not stop fighting until she gets it.
My
favorite documentary is called Girl Rising and it’s about educating girls. At
the very end it shows a girl from Afghanistan who was forced to leave school
under the Taliban law and sold into a marriage at the age of 13. She was
determined to rise up on behalf of the girls in her nation and she spoke with a fire in her eyes. She said,
"Don't tell me that women do not have a place in society. I have learned about Afghan women as attorneys and doctors. They force me to wear this hijab with no opening for my mouth to speak. They expect me to be silent, but I will not. If they throw me into a pit, I will climb out. If they try to kill me, other girls will rise up behind me and take my place. I am change."
I believe we will read about her in the history books someday... Because this war that is raging around me is not just the Taliban or Boko Haram or the pimps that I'm about to meet in Thailand. The war is against Satan and his manifestation of evil in heavenly places. Jesus is going to go get those girls and He has chosen me to go with him.
So pray for me and my team as we run where the Spirit leads us into the front lines of the war. He will be a wall of fire around us, and the Glory in our midst. And when the enemy comes in, like a flood the Holy Spirit will rise up a standard against him. I believe this valley of oppression and drought is about to take a drink from the spring of Living Water. Jesus will be their avenger, and we all know how that story ends.
Redemption is coming.
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