Shine a Light and End It

My daughters want to do it.  My daughter-in-law wants to do it.  My sister wants to do it.  All of the younger women in my life constantly talk and share about it.

It isn't cooking.

It isn't shopping.

It isn't exercise, styling your hair, refashioning clothes, getting married, having a baby, buying a house, getting an SUV, raising beautiful perfect children, or following celebrities...it isn't any of the things that seem to be such a big part of this American life, as evidenced by Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook (I don't tweet, but I guess you find all of that there, too.)

The younger women in my life want to end slavery.

Today, as I sat down on the couch in my living room, all set to drink my gallon mug of coffee, catch up on my social media, and do a little knitting whilst I listen to the mellow-voice-man read the book of Ezra to me, I was blinded.

On the east wall of our cozy living room, right next to the front door, there is an antique little window.  It still contains the original glass from when this house was built in the 1920's.  Across the street from our cool, old home, there is an apartment complex.  Every day there are about 5 minutes when the sun comes up and shines over the roof of the apartments and directly through the little window.  It throws rainbows all over the house, and its one of my favorite moments of the morning.  However, I've never been in the direct line of that light before, I've only ever walked through the indirect beams.

As I sat down and opened up my laptop, I saw a big red X on the screen, and then everything went white.  It looked kinda like this:

It made me think...about God's Word as a light for my path - Psalm 119:105; about how God is my everlasting light - Isaiah 60:19; about how we are the light of the world, a city on a hill - Matthew 5:14;  about Jesus shining in the darkness, but the darkness not understanding - John 3:18-20; and mostly, that the night is nearly over, and we should put on our armor of light! - Romans 13:12

As the sun rose higher, and I could again focus, I saw a big red X on my computer screen.  Today is the day the "END IT" movement has asked us to put a red X on our hands in an effort to shine a light on slavery.

So, I'm drawing an X on my hand, I'm forcing myself to watch all the videos that are posted, I'm crying and praying, I'm supporting my daughters, my sister...and all those with no voice.

We must not be silent.

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

It may seem that changing a profile picture and drawing a red X on our hands won't do anything, but guess what?  Last year at this time, I could not have told you that the Super Bowl is one of the largest sex-trafficking events in the world...but we all know that now.  Last year, I wouldn't have been able to tell you how many slaves there are estimated in the world, but now we all can rattle 27 million (27 MILLION!!!!) off without even thinking.  We are AWARE.  That's the first step.  Now, are we ready for the next step?

For more info, click this link OR just follow my girls on facebook and click their links.  Its time to let this sink into our hearts and our consciousness.  It really is time to End It.

http://enditmovement.com/