1 out of 4

So, about a year and a half ago God led me to this really cool gal....with a really cool non-profit organization that you can check out here.

Through Gateway of Hope I got to know its founder and am now blessed to be a part of the Christian Care Coalition. Simply put, God has given me an awesome chance to serve Him in exactly the way I feel called to serve and I am excited! But.......the statistics are staggering and the faces and stories behind "1 out of 4" are heart-breaking, I know from personal experience.

• Conservative statistics reveal that one in four girls will be sexually abused before age 18.
• Related statistics reveal that 95% of teenage prostitutes have been sexually abused.
• Similar statistics reveal that one in four teen age girls and adult women will be physically abused by their boyfriend, partner, or spouse.
• One in six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape.

As I sit in church on Sunday, stand in line at the grocery store, drive down the streets of my neighborhood, and watch my girls play...I find myself thinking about those "1 in 4".

1 out of 4 means that when my precious girls are having a playdate with their 2 girlfriends, 2 of them will, at some point in their lives be traumitized and violated (statistically thinking).

1 out of 4 means that at church on Sunday.......depending on the number of people there, one can assume that at least a quarter of the women/men there are being, or have been abused at some point in their lives.

1 out of 4 means that when I'm hanging out with a few of my dear girlfriends.....and there are 4 or more gathered, at least one of us has suffered some form of abuse during our lives.

It seems so daunting....so discouraging. After praying that the Lord help me to see the people of this world with His eyes and to love them as He loves them....
...as He so often does....
...He answered my prayer.

My heart hurts. As each day passes......I find myself stumbling to find the answer to the question He keeps asking me, "How are you going to serve me? What are you going to do for those that are suffering so that they can KNOW and BELIEVE that there is HOPE in me? This is why I have left you here."

In the time it's taken me to write this post:
An estimated 60 children have been sold into sex slavery.