God keeps putting it my heart to write!! I'm not sure what He's wanting me to write but I'm sensing from the Holy Spirit that it's more than social media posts! :)
I'll start by simply sharing my dream!
I have SO MUCH on my heart for others right now! In addition to serving in Guatemala for 8 days (more about this later), I've been serving on the Highlands Correctional Ministry team at the Alabama Therapeutic Educational Facility in Columbiana. I've been helping to put together hygiene kits for our homeless friends downtown and learning more about human trafficking so I can resume outreach either with Highlands or The Wellhouse. (I took some time away from that to physically recover from my last knee surgery and about the time I was ready, it was about time to go to Guatemala and I was focused on that!)
I haven't always had a heart for the broken, lost and hurting. But after going through so much of it myself in the last 10 years or so, I suppose God grew one inside of me! People always say your greatest testimony will come from your greatest hurts.
Anyway, in the back of my mind I hear my mom and a few others tell me I should pick one area and focus on that. Pick one thing and do it well. I've heard that my whole life because you see, I have NEVER been able to do that! When I was a kid, I wanted to do it all--play softball, cheer, dance, be in clubs, etc. For practical reasons, I always had to make choices so when I became an adult, I decided I would do what I felt like I could do. Sometimes it wasn't always reasonable and I learned that I would need to be careful about committing myself to too much. I still struggle with that. And for that reason, I keep thinking I should try and focus on one area. But when I pray about it, I don't get that from God.
All the things He has put on my heart are related somehow. A person who is homeless is at risk of becoming trafficked or incarcerated. A person who is trafficked is at risk of becoming incarcerated or homeless. And our laws surrounding some of these issues aren't exactly fair. Why aren't we arresting "johns" that seek to buy women and children for sex? Doing so would eliminated the demand for trafficking victims and the brutality involved in creating a supply. Why do we have individuals incarcerated for simple possession of illegal drugs instead of sending them to intensive rehab? Why do we have sentences for attempted murder that exceed sentences for actual murder? So many questions and so few answers.
But Jesus said these things would always be with us. What we're supposed to do is show them love, meet what needs we can and tell them the Good News. And so until He directs me otherwise, I'm going to plunge on in wherever and whenever. It's not like I have kids at home that need my time and attention--they're all grown. And my dogs don't care, as long as I come home! It's the perfect time in my life to focus on serving Him so that's what I intend to do.
So to be available and financially able to go where I'm called, I want to become a published author and speaker! It's the first time I've ever spoken this out loud/written it down. But I've long since had several books inside of me. I just need the discipline to get them out so that God can orchestrate getting them published, etc. Some of these are fictional stories but with a good Christian message. And some are personal life experiences and the lessons I've learned from them.
So pray for me as I start a new "chapter"!
No comments:
Post a Comment