My Birthday Gift - by Abby Paterson
Hot and angry tears build inside me, and often escape to my cheeks anytime I hear about anything to do with human trafficking. Today was no different as I learned about Cyber Sex Trafficking from our episode of See Hear Love.
Confession: My response is usually to look away, plug my ears, distract myself with something else. Why? Because I feel it will literally break me if let myself really hear about this evil. My mind cannot fathom it its entirety the damage other people’s selfishness can cause another human being. The abuse. The trauma. The physical pain let alone the emotional and mental effects. It is so overwhelming that I usually end up justifying my lack of attack with the lame excuse that it’s just too big for me. That’s where I hear Kelly’s voice in my head, ‘what’s in your hand and who is in your circle?’
I am so thankful for organizations like International Justice Mission. They give me something to latch onto. Someone I can team up with that can answer my, ‘but what am I supposed to do?!?!’ The good news is that I’m not supposed to do it on my own. These organizations already have strategies and campaigns in place that we can join.
One of those campaigns is #NotOnMyScreen. Cyber Sex Trafficking is a real issue – and one that, I’m sorry to say, Canadians are causing demand for. Kids under the age of 5…I mean…I can’t even comprehend. I want to get angry at these people – in fact, I am. But I also realize righteous anger without any action is futile. That anger should be turned into compassion and desperate prayer. Both for the victims and the perpetrators. But goodness, that last one is difficult.
What I’ve come to is this: ‘For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.’ Eph 6:12
There is a physical fight, but it cannot be done without us battling in the spirit against this evil. Will you join me in taking the #NotOnMyScreen pledge, starting the conversation, and doing warfare against the evil rulers and authorities, praying that miraculous barriers of protection will be built up around the victims and praying for complete Saul to Paul transformations will happen to the Oppressors?
