FREEDOM!

There was this Fairtrade and 'Stop the Traffik' awareness evening on at church yesterday, and this girl told this story that challenged me so much:

[Note: This girl is 15 and went to India at 14 years-old to work with her grandma in the red-light district to try and help some of the girls there, and interact with those who had already been rescued...]

She said that they were all just so joyful and happy everyday. And it puzzled her because she could not see anything in their lives for them to be even remotely happy about. So she asked this one girl who had been trafficked and forced into prostitution at the age of 11, why she was so joyful. And her response was, "For my freedom!"

Every day I wake up. Free from being a slave to the awful things these children have experienced for years... and what's more - COMPLETELY free from being a slave to sin and death and loneliness and insecurity... all the things that keep supposed 'free' people, bound yet unaware, every minute of every day.

And what are my first thoughts?

"Arghhh I can't believe it's day-time again. I can NOT be bothered..."

I need my outlook changing. I need to realise and never forget to be grateful for every thing.

My life. My freedom. My God.

Gal 5:1 - "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

how much do we really care?

God's keeps breaking my heart for people all the time.

It makes me feel quite uncomfortable, but it's so necessary. If I'm not motivated by a love for them, but a feeling of obligation, people know. And it doesn't go down well. We're called to LOVE people. And funnily enough, that's what they all crave. Our friends. Those closest to us, who don't know Christ... they'd probably never admit it, but REAL love is the only thing that makes them feel whole. Are we prepared to GIVE OF OURSELVES to help lead them to the One who lavishes all, freely, with the only perfect, whole and unconditional love that exists?

Matthew 9:13 - "I desire mercy not sacrifice."

still changing...

It's so weird. in my last blog, I mentioned how I was starting to feel more different now that I've finished King's... and it's still happening! Sooo many people who knew me either before or during (including those unfortunate to have known me for both) are starting to point out how much I seem to have changed. the most popular comment seems to be that I'm more 'chilled out'... mainly from those who got to know me throughout my time at King's... which doesn't really surprise me (as so much was constantly going on there, with God challenging me, my attitudes, my obedience and my faith through every single thing, I never could really just relax)... but even my mum has noticed a change. And she's been with me my whole life!

Honestly, I don't think it was just bible college that has brought it on; my trip to Uganda really did change me in many ways. For some reason, going there - the culture, the people, their joy and their thankfulness, changed me so much. Right at my core. They just take each day as they come. Praising God for every little thing. We stress about so much, so unnecessarily, and it just wears us down. I have so much to be grateful for, and how often do I remember that? Not that often really. It seems that, during my visit over there, God just completely opened my eyes to the small things. And how He blesses us again and again through them, but we hardly ever notice because it's things we take so much for granted. The people I met over there, both African and Western, are so aware of everything that God is doing for them, that they have faith for even bigger things! Because they see Him taking care of them in every other way! They trust in Him so intently because they see Him provide again and again. In food, in water, in friends, in joy, in hope, in love.

Emily (one of the girls on the team from Northampton with whom I went) and I took one of the evening devotions at New Hope with one of the family groups, and as we hadn't been given ANY prior notice about this, we were really just praying that God would speak to us about what He wanted us to do that evening. It turned out that we felt He wanted us to talk to them and talk them through God speaking to people (prophetically), and how He wants to talk to everyone, we just need to learn to listen. Then we spent a few minutes praying and waiting on God (baring in mind this was only a half an hour slot, with children as young as 4/5 years old), and then asked them if any of them had anything to share...

We waited.

And waited.

Until one of the older boys spoke up.

This is what he said:

"I feel that God wants us to remember to take up every opportunity. Never to be satisfied with simply living our lives. He has BLESSED every one of us by rescuing us and bringing us here [to New Hope] and this is not where He wants us to stop. He wants us to keep moving. To keep trusting. And to have faith that He will make our lives better. He has so much in store for us. To stop and feel sorry for ourselves because of what happened in our past is NOT an option. We need to look forwards and rejoice, for our futures are certain. Life with Him is our future. Praise God!"

Most of us haven't been through even half of what these children have.

We can learn so much from those who seem to have nothing.

new beginnings.

God's been so good to me over the past few weeks.
Blessing me with a joyful spirit even in the harder times. And it's made me start thinking.

Why has it shocked me so much to find that I can persevere and push into God through difficulties? In fact, I've found that in doing this, it has blessed me more so than digging deeper with Him through every day stuff.

For those of you who don't know (I presume most of you do), I moved to Manchester for university precisely three weeks ago this very day (I've just acquired internet this evening, hence why I'm. And it's been quite the rollercoaster.

Everybody I've met has been amazing, and I've made some brilliant friends already. I live with pretty incredible people. My church has been so welcoming and easy to feel a valued part of. The course I'm doing is great. I've settled in really well. Yet there's been a good few times when I've felt so uncomfortable in myself that I can't stand to be around anybody. Just as though, no matter what, I won't be accepted, or fit in. And it's stupid. Because I know that I've been accepted already by these people, yet the place the devil chooses to attack me is right there, where it used to trouble me so much, before God gave me the beautiful revelation of who I am IN HIM. Not in my relationship with anyone else. And it's that which I keep getting brought back to every time I feel like this.

I had expected to be changed SO much during my time at King's, yet when I finished, although people kept re-assuring me that I had, I didn't feel so different at all really.
But now I've realised... What had changed was more internal than external at that point. It was a process that hadn't finished... well, actually, had barely started. And it's taken me being brought out of the bible college 'bubble' for the work that God did to my thoughts, attitudes and character to be truly worked out.

And if uni has done anything to me already, bringing me out of the bubble is definitely it.

Recently I've had a real fire for prayer. For my christian friends, for my family, for my non-christian friends, and for the many new people I'm meeting now. And I continue to be amazed by just how much God has blessed me through it! In my first week (yep - Fresher's!), I had sooo many 'deep' conversations about my beliefs and my relationship with God it's crazy. Probably almost as many as I've ever had in my whole entire life before. And I know it's only 'conversations', but if we don't open our mouths, how are they supposed to hear the news that has changed our lives?

"What did you do for your gap year?" is such a great place to start. And I've found that most of the people I meet have taken them. Treasure chest.

Everybody's searching. So let's keep praying.