A Privilege to Help - Jewell Utt
Humanitarian causes are important to most people. When we hear about hunger, slavery, distress, homelessness, it tugs at our heart strings. Hearing is a gift, but seeing is a game changer.
It’s easy to take our comfortable lives for granted and turn a blind eye to the suffering around us. Human Trafficking is an evil suffered by more women than we’d care to believe. It’s not a distant sin, it’s happening right in our neighborhoods.
Imagine a young girl walking to the park. She’s feeling misunderstood after yet another fight with her parents. Her grades are bad, her friends are worse, and she’s uncertain how she got into this situation. She’s looking at the ground, wrestling with her emotions, while he’s watching it all.
By chance they meet. He’s sympathetic, agreeing and even horrified by the injustices she’s experiencing. He leaves her feeling vindicated, understood, loved. With the hope that maybe he’ll catch her tomorrow, if he’s around.
It feels good to have someone to talk with, someone who really cares. She’s excited about their next meeting. So she rushes to the park at the same time tomorrow, but he’s not around.
After a few days she becomes angrier with her family and desperate for his advice. Thankfully he’s finally there. He offers a plan, a place for her to stay. After all she’s too special to put up with this garbage. She feels great. She has no idea she has just become a victim of Human Trafficking.
She endured years of being drugged, beaten, sexually abused, and imprisoned. Her memories have ensured she will never experience that “great” feeling again.
Traffickers target the vulnerable for financial gain. They replace their innocence with emotional devastation, that in many cases will never heal. As a society we must become educated and vigilant to this threat.
One way to help is to support agencies who are fighting the good fight. And to participate in causes that promote education to the community and practical resources to victims.
Fellowship Women is hosting an event on Monday April 13. Follow the link for details. https://jewellutt.tinypixelstars.com/events/fellowship-women/?preview=true&preview_id=344&preview_nonce=85715aa19f
The Polaris Project in NJ http://www.polarisproject.org/
Truth For Women in Pa http://truthforwomencenter.org/
Vast in Pa http://thevast.org/
It is a privilege to help those in need. Let’s stay alert for our youth. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. Isaiah 58:10
Jesus can heal.
