Faith is sometimes crazy hard to keep strong when you expect something to happen at a certain time, and it doesn't. I usually struggle with thoughts of, 'well, God hasn't done this yet, so maybe I heard wrong. Maybe it's not supposed to happen. Maybe it's just my hope, not his will.'. And while that may be true in some cases, in some, it probably isn't. I am giving up because things are not happening in my timing, but perhaps my timing is different than God's.
I was reading in Exodus today, and chapter 23, God is telling the people of Israel that he will send his angel before them, and he will send hornets before the children of Israel to drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before them. I'm sure that the Israelites would have expected God to do that quickly. They saw his power in Egypt, and knew what he could do to drive out the inhabitants of the promised land.
But then God adds a bit of a disclaimer. In verses 29-30, he says, "I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased and inherit the land."
I doubt a lot of the Israelites were too pleased to hear this. I think I would have been. Why take a long time to rid the land of the heathens when God could do it in a couple of days? And he wouldn't have to even take that long. I mean, the soldiers could have gone in, they could have had a couple of battles, then the land would belong to God's children, instead of waiting longer, and having so many battles.
But that is me as a human talking. What I love about these verses is that God explains himself. There is nothing at all that makes it so that God has to explain himself to humans. He didn't even have to give them an idea of what his timing was going to be. He could have said, "You're going to get this land, but you're just going to have to be patient and I'll get around to it eventually." But he had a definite reason for why he was not going to quickly empty the land. He loved his people, and he knew that in the long run, it would hurt them to be given so much land to care for at one time. And he explained it to them.
Maybe what you're waiting for is God's will. Maybe you heard him right, and he wants to give whatever it is to you. But perhaps he is waiting until you are able to handle it. Maybe you have to move into it slowly or there will be negative consequences even though you have what you wanted to have.
Keep trusting and believing. Ask God to help you understand his timing. Ask him to prepare you. The Israelite nation had to increase in numbers before they were able to have the whole land. It could be that something in your life needs to change before you can move forward. And also pray that God would reveal to you if this is really his will. Are you waiting for something that's of him, or something that is of you? If it is of you, you probably do need to move on. But if it is from him, you need to continue to trust in him, and wait on his timing, and follow his direction in the meantime.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Strength, not Feminism
I must say, I desire to be a strong woman. But I am not in any way a feminist, and I'm actually not too fond of them at all. I think that they are messing with the way that things are supposed to be. Men are supposed to be the head of their family. Men are supposed to be spiritual leaders. Women should let men lead, and should let men help them. Women should give men the chance to be chivalrous, instead of yelling at them, or mocking them when they try to be gentlemen. Our culture has gone so downhill, because men get their heads bitten off every time that they try to help a woman with anything.
But there is a difference between being a feminist, and being a strong woman. I have been reading the Bible with a specific focus on the way women are spoken about. I don't know why I have that focus. It might be something that God is bringing to my attention at this point; I'm not sure. But there are four main types of women that are talked about.
The women in the Bible that make me sad are the women that are basically looked at as pointless. Not by God; no one is seen as pointless by God, but their families didn't care about them. Some that are in this category are the Levite's concubine, and his host's daughter in Judges 19, and Lot's daughters in Genesis 19. In both of these cases, the men of the city they were in, came to rape the male guests at the house. And to save the men, the virgin girls were offered in exchange, for the mob to do with them as they pleased. The Bible doesn't say what happens to the host's daughter, and Lot's daughters ended up not being sent out, but the concubine was given to the men, who raped her all night, and she ended up dying.
How terrible would it be, to be betrayed by the person who is supposed to be protecting you? Whether your Father or husband (concubines were wives, they just didn't have the legal status), if they gave, or even offered to give you to a group of men so that they could rape you, that would be absolutely terrifying and horrible. You would have no one to turn to then. And these men made it clear that the women were not worth anything to them.
The 2nd group is not a huge group as far as biblical characters go. In my opinion, Jezebel is the epitome of a feminist. Her husband Ahab was the King, but it looks like she pretty well ruled the roost. She told him what to do, and he followed it. It didn't help matters that she was married to a weak man. But look how that turned out. They were enemies of God. Jezebel ended up being pushed out of a window, and her body was eaten by dogs.
Then there are girls who were very important to their families, although not necessarily that strong. Jacob's daughter Dinah in Genesis 34 is one of those. Her brothers were willing to start a war to defend her honour. And Jephthah's daughter, in Judges 11 is another. Jephthah made the vow that whatever came out first to greet him when he returned from war, would be given to God. Then, when it was his daughter, he was devastated. He did not say, "Eh, it's a girl. At least it wasn't anything important." When he saw that she was the first one to come out of his house, he tore his clothes in regret. He did as he had promised the Lord he would do, but it troubled him greatly to do so.
These women had worth to their family, and their families showed that. Even in a culture where daughters weren't that important, they were.
And the last group is the women that I want to be like. These are the women who were stronger than most people could be. They knew what they were supposed to do, and they did it. Yeah, they hesitated at times, or they questioned, but they did it anyway. And, something that I think is important even for strong women right now, they submitted to the men in their lives, and admitted that they needed those men.
My favourite woman in the Bible would have to be Ruth. For all Ruth knew, she could have been throwing away any chance at having a family, and having a "good" life when she followed Naomi. For all she knew, perhaps no Israelite man would want to marry a Moabitess. Ruth's sons did, but that was when they were in a foreign land, and had no Israelite women to choose from. Ruth was leaving everything that she had known her whole life (except for Naomi), and going to a land she did not know, to live among people she did not know. But she went anyway. She told Naomi that she would follow her, and nothing but death would part them. And she meant it. Ruth followed Naomi's directions when they arrived in Bethlehem. She went out to the fields to glean behind the harvesters. They were doing alright. They had food, they had each other, and they had God. But Ruth needed a husband. So she followed Naomi's directions in seeking out Boaz and asking him to take his role as their kinsman redeemer. And the thing about this is that after she approached Boaz and told him what she wanted him to do, she left it up to him. She did not try to work things out on her own, instead, trusting Boaz to do what needed to be done.
How would things have worked out if Ruth said, "No, I am going to do what I want to do with my life, and I am not going to take anyone's advice. I'm certainly not going to trust some guy I don't even know."? Probably nothing. If she was not a strong, godly woman, she would not have caught Boaz's attention. And even if she did, she would have ruined things by going to the men at the gate to tell them to let Boaz be her Kinsman redeemer. They would likely have sent her away, and ignored her request. Ruth was strong when she needed to be, and trusted people when she could not be the strong one. This is true strength; to be able to let go of control and let someone else handle things, or let someone else give you directions. I'm not saying to be lazy. Laziness is not strength. But stepping back when someone else can do things better than you can, and being honest enough to say that you need someone else, is strength.
Esther is another strong woman in the Bible. She had her Uncle Mordecai who was to her like Naomi was to Ruth. Mordecai was the one who taught Esther, the one who raised her to be the woman that she was. And she followed his directions, even though it seemed like they would cause her death. There were times that she sort of questioned, saying that if she went to the King, she could be killed, but she did it anyway.
And the major thing that Esther did before going to the King, was that she fasted and prayed, and called others to fast and pray with her. She showed her dependence on God through this. It was not all about her, and how amazing she was because she was the King. Through the whole thing, she remained very humble, and showed respect. Esther's demeanor the entire time that she dealt with the problem of Haman was that of a Proverbs 31 woman. And through that, she earned the favour of the King; something she probably would not have done had she stormed in and demanded that he listen to her. It takes a very strong woman to keep those traits even through trials.
I was listening to a political debate a while ago, and one of the candidates said this, "This country has a trust deficit." This is so true. Our country is full of people who do not know how to trust. It takes a strong woman to trust in spite of being hurt. And it takes a strong woman to truly be trustworthy. Are you a woman that anyone can come to, knowing that you will not judge or share confidences? Do you trust? Are you able to really talk to people, and accept their help as well? If not, maybe it's something that should be worked on. I know it's something that I am working on. And for men (if any read this the whole way through...) are you being the kind of man who draws that out of the women in your life? A woman should be strong no matter what her circumstances are, but there is something about a man who encourages a woman to be strong that makes her desire strength, and want to rise to those expectations.
But there is a difference between being a feminist, and being a strong woman. I have been reading the Bible with a specific focus on the way women are spoken about. I don't know why I have that focus. It might be something that God is bringing to my attention at this point; I'm not sure. But there are four main types of women that are talked about.
The women in the Bible that make me sad are the women that are basically looked at as pointless. Not by God; no one is seen as pointless by God, but their families didn't care about them. Some that are in this category are the Levite's concubine, and his host's daughter in Judges 19, and Lot's daughters in Genesis 19. In both of these cases, the men of the city they were in, came to rape the male guests at the house. And to save the men, the virgin girls were offered in exchange, for the mob to do with them as they pleased. The Bible doesn't say what happens to the host's daughter, and Lot's daughters ended up not being sent out, but the concubine was given to the men, who raped her all night, and she ended up dying.
How terrible would it be, to be betrayed by the person who is supposed to be protecting you? Whether your Father or husband (concubines were wives, they just didn't have the legal status), if they gave, or even offered to give you to a group of men so that they could rape you, that would be absolutely terrifying and horrible. You would have no one to turn to then. And these men made it clear that the women were not worth anything to them.
The 2nd group is not a huge group as far as biblical characters go. In my opinion, Jezebel is the epitome of a feminist. Her husband Ahab was the King, but it looks like she pretty well ruled the roost. She told him what to do, and he followed it. It didn't help matters that she was married to a weak man. But look how that turned out. They were enemies of God. Jezebel ended up being pushed out of a window, and her body was eaten by dogs.
Then there are girls who were very important to their families, although not necessarily that strong. Jacob's daughter Dinah in Genesis 34 is one of those. Her brothers were willing to start a war to defend her honour. And Jephthah's daughter, in Judges 11 is another. Jephthah made the vow that whatever came out first to greet him when he returned from war, would be given to God. Then, when it was his daughter, he was devastated. He did not say, "Eh, it's a girl. At least it wasn't anything important." When he saw that she was the first one to come out of his house, he tore his clothes in regret. He did as he had promised the Lord he would do, but it troubled him greatly to do so.
These women had worth to their family, and their families showed that. Even in a culture where daughters weren't that important, they were.
And the last group is the women that I want to be like. These are the women who were stronger than most people could be. They knew what they were supposed to do, and they did it. Yeah, they hesitated at times, or they questioned, but they did it anyway. And, something that I think is important even for strong women right now, they submitted to the men in their lives, and admitted that they needed those men.
My favourite woman in the Bible would have to be Ruth. For all Ruth knew, she could have been throwing away any chance at having a family, and having a "good" life when she followed Naomi. For all she knew, perhaps no Israelite man would want to marry a Moabitess. Ruth's sons did, but that was when they were in a foreign land, and had no Israelite women to choose from. Ruth was leaving everything that she had known her whole life (except for Naomi), and going to a land she did not know, to live among people she did not know. But she went anyway. She told Naomi that she would follow her, and nothing but death would part them. And she meant it. Ruth followed Naomi's directions when they arrived in Bethlehem. She went out to the fields to glean behind the harvesters. They were doing alright. They had food, they had each other, and they had God. But Ruth needed a husband. So she followed Naomi's directions in seeking out Boaz and asking him to take his role as their kinsman redeemer. And the thing about this is that after she approached Boaz and told him what she wanted him to do, she left it up to him. She did not try to work things out on her own, instead, trusting Boaz to do what needed to be done.
How would things have worked out if Ruth said, "No, I am going to do what I want to do with my life, and I am not going to take anyone's advice. I'm certainly not going to trust some guy I don't even know."? Probably nothing. If she was not a strong, godly woman, she would not have caught Boaz's attention. And even if she did, she would have ruined things by going to the men at the gate to tell them to let Boaz be her Kinsman redeemer. They would likely have sent her away, and ignored her request. Ruth was strong when she needed to be, and trusted people when she could not be the strong one. This is true strength; to be able to let go of control and let someone else handle things, or let someone else give you directions. I'm not saying to be lazy. Laziness is not strength. But stepping back when someone else can do things better than you can, and being honest enough to say that you need someone else, is strength.
Esther is another strong woman in the Bible. She had her Uncle Mordecai who was to her like Naomi was to Ruth. Mordecai was the one who taught Esther, the one who raised her to be the woman that she was. And she followed his directions, even though it seemed like they would cause her death. There were times that she sort of questioned, saying that if she went to the King, she could be killed, but she did it anyway.
And the major thing that Esther did before going to the King, was that she fasted and prayed, and called others to fast and pray with her. She showed her dependence on God through this. It was not all about her, and how amazing she was because she was the King. Through the whole thing, she remained very humble, and showed respect. Esther's demeanor the entire time that she dealt with the problem of Haman was that of a Proverbs 31 woman. And through that, she earned the favour of the King; something she probably would not have done had she stormed in and demanded that he listen to her. It takes a very strong woman to keep those traits even through trials.
I was listening to a political debate a while ago, and one of the candidates said this, "This country has a trust deficit." This is so true. Our country is full of people who do not know how to trust. It takes a strong woman to trust in spite of being hurt. And it takes a strong woman to truly be trustworthy. Are you a woman that anyone can come to, knowing that you will not judge or share confidences? Do you trust? Are you able to really talk to people, and accept their help as well? If not, maybe it's something that should be worked on. I know it's something that I am working on. And for men (if any read this the whole way through...) are you being the kind of man who draws that out of the women in your life? A woman should be strong no matter what her circumstances are, but there is something about a man who encourages a woman to be strong that makes her desire strength, and want to rise to those expectations.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Well, I finally bought my ticket, sent out support emails/messages, and got everything started with getting lodging in Ooty. It's sort of starting to feel real. Kinda. But it's not going to quite feel real until I am on the ground in India.
I've been feeling more and more excited lately. I am a little bit apprehensive, because I know things aren't the same as they were last time, but still excited. I know that I feel at home in Ooty, and that has nothing to do with the consistency of the Leg Up program. Sometimes I feel more at home there than I do in the States.
It's always a surreal feeling knowing that in a month or so I will be getting on a plane, and, after being in transit for around 24 hours, I will be halfway across the world, and in a completely different time zone. It's very weird to skype with my folks at night, when they are just starting their day.
But it is amazing how quickly you can get used to things that you have not dealt with your whole life. Driving on the left side of the road, not looking men in the eyes, eating different food, learning to communicate with people who only sort of speak english. And then there are the bucket baths, squat toilets, animals roaming the streets, and various other things. But it's somehow amazing.
I'll be writing more as it gets closer to time to leave. I just wanted to share how I am feeling now. It's so exciting to actually have my ticket, and have the dates I'll be there. I love it :~)
I've been feeling more and more excited lately. I am a little bit apprehensive, because I know things aren't the same as they were last time, but still excited. I know that I feel at home in Ooty, and that has nothing to do with the consistency of the Leg Up program. Sometimes I feel more at home there than I do in the States.
It's always a surreal feeling knowing that in a month or so I will be getting on a plane, and, after being in transit for around 24 hours, I will be halfway across the world, and in a completely different time zone. It's very weird to skype with my folks at night, when they are just starting their day.
But it is amazing how quickly you can get used to things that you have not dealt with your whole life. Driving on the left side of the road, not looking men in the eyes, eating different food, learning to communicate with people who only sort of speak english. And then there are the bucket baths, squat toilets, animals roaming the streets, and various other things. But it's somehow amazing.
I'll be writing more as it gets closer to time to leave. I just wanted to share how I am feeling now. It's so exciting to actually have my ticket, and have the dates I'll be there. I love it :~)
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
How much are you worth?
What would it take for you to sell your friend? Your child? Yourself??? Is there anything that would make you consider it? Perhaps it is too far out of the realm of possibilities to even think of. I know I would want to claim that nothing in the world could entice me to sell anyone who is dear to me. Or even anyone who is my enemy. I can't even imagine giving a life for any amount of money. And especially for the tiny amounts of money that girls are often sold for. It's usually only a couple of dollars, if that. Talk about feeling worthless. A girl's life, her body, everything that she has, is sold for a pittance.
But for so many people, this is a reality. They don't really see any choice other than getting involved with human trafficking. Sometimes parents don't want their daughters, but sometimes it is a case where they simply don't think they have any other recourse unless they want their entire family to die. They are sacrificing one member of the family to save the others. And then when the girls are in a brothel, being sold, they are told that if they leave, their families will be killed. Or they are told that their families are in need of the money that they bring in, and they believe that the "work" that they do will help their family. Even though, once the girl is sold, her family does not see any money. So the girl is trapped, and the family is pretty much in the same position that she was in to begin with.
Then there are girls who sell themselves. They have no other means of earning money, because they have not been educated, and they have not been given opportunities to better their own life. Maybe that is why it is hard for me to picture selling myself or selling someone else. Because I always have some other way that I could earn money. Maybe I'd end up with a boring job; something that really isn't my cup of tea; but really, anything would be better than what these girls go through as they are raped sometimes 40 times a day. But when your only other option is death, it would be a tough thing decision to make.
The focus of our youth group's Battle of the Bands was raising money for the A21 Campaign (www.thea21campaign.org) to fight human trafficking. We sold shirts and watches and whatnot, and we had some info about the A21 Campaign. We had a cage that represented girls who are in captivity. The original plan was to have a girl in the cage, with a sign around her neck that read help. That idea changed though, and we gave people the chance to put their friends in the cage. We charged $10 for 10 minutes, and it was actually pretty popular. I'm sure that overall, it was an amusing game for people. I mean, who wouldn't want to put their friends in a cage.
But I feel like it also made people think. The first person to go into the cage was one of our interns. She was ok at first. We were taking pictures of her, and she was posing, but at about 5 minutes, things changed. She asked me how much longer she had left, and when I told her that she was only halfway done, she freaked out a little bit. She started to try to figure out if she could fit through the bars of the cage, and somehow escape. And other people who were in the cage would ask after a few minutes how much longer they had left. I found that people were more uneasy when I refused to tell them how much time they had left to be in the cage.
I told people that no girl who has been trafficked knows how much longer she has left to be in her cage. And everyone that we put in the cage knew that they only had 10 minutes to be in there, then they could get out and hang out with their friends more. And even when they were in the cage, everyone was texting, listening to the music, and talking to friends who came to talk to them. Girls (and boys) who have been trafficked have no way to contact anyone who can help them. And they don't know if rescue will ever come for them. Especially if they are no longer minors. Often, raids can't even happen unless there is a minor in the brothel that will be rescued. Older girls don't have much of a chance.
I don't know about anyone else, but that cage really made me think. It was a fun thing to do at a fun event, but it also gave the tiniest picture of what girls go through every day. And I really hope that it opened other people's eyes as well. The only way that human trafficking will ever end is if we know about it, and if we fight it. We need to stop sitting in our little bubbles, pretending that none of this affects us. What affects the world affects you. You wouldn't stand by if you saw a little girl being raped (or at least I hope you wouldn't), so open your eyes and see what is happening all over the world. Including here in the U.S. Just because a country is not 3rd world does not mean that it is devoid of human trafficking.
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