End It

Today I want to talk about freedom.

As y’all know from talking to me, seeing my social media, and reading my journals, my heart has really been on fire to see people come out of their lives of slavery. I participated in Dressember and was able to raise $850, which is enough to help provide packages to bring 43 people out of human trafficking and slavery! Can you imagine if I had just not participated or had not raised my goal??

I didn’t help all 40 million+ people out of their lives of slavery. I can’t do everything. BUT, I did do enough for the lives of those estimated 43 people, and that means all the world to them. All I can do is keep going!

To learn all of the things that I did in December and January just motivates me to live my life differently. To learn about all of the people that are forced to not know freedom just broke my heart.

What originally set my heart on fire to see people come out of trafficking and slavery was a nightmare that I had in January 2018. But I think what kept it there was that I know the feeling of not being free, even though my chains looked much different from the chains that these people have.

I’m going to reference Mark 5:25-34 right here:

25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

If you know me, you know why I LOVE this. Because, I too had suffered for 12 long years, the only difference is that my suffering was with mental illness instead of physical illness. From the age of 5-17, I had been the slave of fear and anxiety, and for several of those years I also struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts and tendencies.

Can we talk about verse 26? The things that should have healed her, the things that she thought would heal her, only made her worse.

Then verse 29: Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

Followed by the power in verse 34: “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

For my 12 years of suffering, I wanted something immediate, and NOTHING was working. But as soon as I realized that the only thing I hadn’t tried was Jesus? I was freed. I am a DAUGHTER of the one TRUE King. My faith in Him helped to heal me. And I may still have bad days, but I am NO LONGER a slave to anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, etc.

But why share all this in this journal?

Because I know freedom, and I want others to know freedom as well.

Galatians 5:13-14 tells us

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

My beautiful brothers and sisters, you were called to be FREE, no matter what your chains look like. And if you are free, then how can you not want to use your freedom to bring others out of their bondage?

Today I want to remind you that there are more than 40 million people in slavery and human trafficking. Today I want to remind you that about every 30 seconds, there is a new victim. In fact, ¼ of which are children. Today I want to remind you that they are more than just numbers, they are PEOPLE and they need our help. I will not rest. I will not stop fighting for this until every person is free, even if their shackles look very different from the ones that I once wore. Because they deserve to be free.

USE YOUR FREEDOM!

Use your freedom to help others find theirs.

Join me today by drawing a big red X on your hand. Join me in my fight to see more than 40 million people FREED from their lives of human trafficking and slavery.

I’m in it to end it.

Are you?