A Chance. To Rest.

First of all, I would like to thank all those who have shown their support to Jacqueline and I’s Birthday for a Cause. I would especially like to thank those who have given a donation. As it stands now, we are at $999 and our goal is $1000, with four days left. That is HUGE - we practically reached our goal! We are beyond thankful, but yet, we're not quite done. The fight is not quite over.

For these past three days, the thought of being able to peacefully rest at night and the privilege it is has been gnawing at my conscience. It is beautiful, isn’t it? To lie down and be content - to rest in peace. I don’t always wake up feeling very refreshed, but I know I have the freedom to lie down at will and be satisfied with my work day. Now, over these three days of raising awareness for One Day’s Wages Human Trafficking Fund as my mind contemplates in a greater manner the plight of so many millions of people, it has dawned on me that - like I said earlier - the ability to peacefully rest at night is a privilege. A gift, really.

Because there are plenty of people who are unable to enjoy this privilege. And there are some who are in oppression and have been robbed of their opportunity to have this privilege. Due to the diabolical behavior of other humans, there is a child, a woman, and a man somewhere right now who is approaching the night with a sense of anxiety, desperation, and restlessness. They have no peace. For some of them, their exploitation begins at night.

No rest. No opportunity to rest.

As a Seventh-Day Adventist Christian who not only enjoys peace and rest in the nights, but also one whole day to enjoy shalom (peace) and shabbat (ceasing) with friends, family, and the Lord, my heart is especially broken to think of someone not having this gift.

They have no chance at rest in the nights, much less a chance to spend a day with loved ones and the Lord. Thus, as some of you give your one day’s wages (and more) to this Birthday Cause for the Human Trafficking Fund, I know you are being gospel workers. Because sometimes, God wants more than your prayers. Your finances are working out liberation and an opportunity for individuals to enter into rest both at night and for eternity.

At this point, as I mentioned earlier, we are practically there, and it has been in large part to sizable donations. Thanks to you, our friends. But if you are able to donate even $10 or $20, please do not be shy. Your $10 is better than your wishfulness. And many $10s are better than no $100s. (If that makes sense). In the very least, consider sharing our video, or our ODW profile, or this blog post to your social network. Perhaps someone you know will want to help.

So please, Jacqueline and I appeal to you help the captives. When we freely give to gospel work, God supplies. (Philippians 4:16-19) Moreover, as we enter into our Sabbath rest this weekend, can we really sit still and offer our praises while ignoring a multitude of God’s children who may never taste of nightly rest, Sabbath rest, and the “better rest” which awaits us?

Our goal for this project was $1,000.

We're at $999.

Consider it.

Not just giving your dollar to merely reach this goal.

But perhaps more.

Because in reality, should there ever be a limit to help save a life?

I fell down in tears

I fell down in tears.

In tears.

When the Cleveland Clinic video started playing, I was beginning to quiver already. A few seconds in, my tears were already coming out. Having just finished a session of conflict resolution and experiencing the great relief which comes with it, my heart was left in a very sensitive place. The sobriety awakened me to the needs of others, awakened me to stop resisting the emotions which were always there.

Because I have to confess I am the emotional creature, the feeler of tension in the room and absorber of joy in the work place. When I am not living with a hard hearted attitude, the concerns and emotions and sadness and anxieties are very evident to me. I can tell when someone was put off or why they smiled in that way. It's the curse of intuition. The mantra of the ENFP. I confess there's a mothering desire inside me which I so often stifle because it's not cool, or it's not convenient, or I'm tired and dwelling in self-pity.

But after having walked through conflict resolution and employing my ears to do that which they are meant for, listening, and then genuinely warmly embracing this brother of mine, I was in a very soft place. And when the video began to play, when the sound track behind brief clips of people doing hospital things like riding an elevator, smiling in an eccentric manner to a child, or contemplating what these result papers mean in the waiting room hit my ears, I knew I was going to cry. As I read the captions besides each subject in the clip, the caption beside the patient, or the radiologist, or the desk attendant, I could feel this deep gut wrenching. In each caption was a worry or concern or reason for joy  for that individual and the way the video played out I could just hear the very loud message coming through:

Nobody around them really knows this information which is so heavy on this person's heart. You wouldn't know either if you were a part of their life because, let's be honest, when was the last time you sought out a person to really listen to what's on their heart...

And I cried. I cried bitterly and unashamedly as the whole class watched the four minute video. I let myself feel the weight of the situation and this deep angry repentance rose up in my heart. After my tears, I thought the emotions I experienced had subsided but  when the clip ended, Laurence asked me to share what I had felt. And as I walked back to the group from the sound booth where I had been, all the pain, hurt, anger, repentance, longing, and passion roared back to life.

There's so much pain, so much pain, (I am walking towards my seat, circling the class.) so much pain in this world. So much pain in everyone all around me all the time. And I ignore it, I fight it, I resist it, I turn my eyes away from it, I harden my heart and choose to not deal with it. And I hate so much that I am a culprit, sitting on the wealth of gospel and good news that's supposed to bring reconciliation to the world, but I am not doing anything with it. I am approaching my seat at the table now. It makes me want to flip over the tables of my fakery in the way that the Rabbi Jesus did once and just rid myself of all the crap my self-seeking brings. I sit. My head bows down towards the edge of the table. No longer do I yell, this a whimpering plea. It made me long, it made me long so much for Jesus to return, to come soon... and heal... And restore, I thought but didn't manage to whimper out between my falling tears.

What is the gospel to you in six words?

A week ago, I asked people on Facebook and Twitter to tell me what the gospel meant to them in six words. Here are the responses. Krystina Holliday: "Merciful Salvation for our wretched souls."

Christian Hodet: Sin's penalty, power and presence destroyed!

Da Hol'day: "Justification, Sanctification, Transformation, Salvation, Life, Deliverance."

Suzanne LaMore Elmer: "The Incredible Love of Jesus Christ."

Vanessa Pujic: "Jesus' love = freedom, happiness for all!"

Marius Jensen: "God has integrity. God is love."

Nick Hausted: "God's Original Salvation Plan = Exemplary Love."

Val Jacobson: "God=love. Love died. Love lives."

Jordan Reichert: "God's selfless restoration of all things..."

Stephen William Farr: "He who has been forgiven much."

Jonathan Stephan: "Love, love, love, love! Inexplicably mine."

Luis Gamino: "Supreme love for me and you."

Sam Smith: "Restoration of children to their Father."

Kessia Reyne: "Divine fellowship and likeness -freely given."

Bryant Rodriguez: "At the Golgotha, Yahweh embraced all."

*****

If you never got to make one, go ahead and place one in the comment section!