A face I can't forget...

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She was dancing in the middle of a road in Deli. While in India I saw many faces, many children, but she had my heart the moment I laid eyes on her. Her body contorted in unnatural ways as she danced her way down the jagged row of vehicles. She was a beautiful face clothed in rags. It wasn't uncommon to see lots of children on the streets. So many children make a full-time job from begging or doing tricks for those passing by. Lots of times someone will "take them in" and now the children work for then in return. I will never know if she had a home, a family or any one looking out for her. I will never know her name. I will never know what she will become. She was just one of many, but to me she was different.

I snapped this photo just as she came up to the window. I know we all felt immediate compassion for her. My heart broke in a million pieces as the van pulled away and she was left dancing in the street. Sure, she may have just taken the money we gave her back the boss and never seen any of it. But we had to do something. I need to do something still. I love the line in Brooke Fraser's song Albertine that says "now that I have seen I am responsible." Yes, I am accountable now. I have seen the injustice in the world and I cannon stay silent about it.

I keep this photo framed so I won't forget her. Four years later, I still can't get her out of my head. Her face is a reminder of all the children like her all around the world and even in my own backyard.

Now that I have seen I am responsible...

The Revelation

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The Revelation

First of all, let me preface this post by saying that I've been holding off on writing this for a while. This is kind of a hard post for me to write because it's so personal. Anyway, here it goes...

Looking back I don't know why I thought this road was going to be smooth and the way easily defined. It has certainly been nothing of the sort. I expected a challenge, but I did not expect the inner struggle. Back in September I knew the Lord was giving me this photography business. As clear as day I heard Him say, "Use it for Me. This isn't yours. I give it to You now and I can take it away." With excitement I bought a camera and started out on this new journey. I quite literally had nothing else. For the first month or two I felt so elated. This was one of my dreams and now it was finally coming to fruition. After a while this question started to plague me, growing stronger with each passing day: How do I use this for Him? The details and necessities for running a business became abundant and I wondered if this is what He wanted. With no clear answer I continued moving forward.

Thankfully, the new year brought with it fresh vision. I was at a conference called Passion when the revelation hit me. I was sitting in my seat listening to the stories of those who are enslaved in our world today. I heard lots of statistics, but the stories...they pierced my heart. This particular story was about a young girl from Europe who was set up on a blind date by her friends. Innocent enough, right? Minutes into the date, the guy drugged her drink. He pretended that she suddenly wasn't feeling well and took her outside. No one suspected. He threw her into the back of his car, bribed the man at the country's border and was gone. No one even knew where to look or what had happened to her. It hit me that this could happen to anyone. It became personal. That girl could have been my sister. She could have been my friend. Suddenly she was no longer a number in a statistic. I heard her voice, I saw her face and I felt her pain.

Then, I knew.

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