The other day, I went to a cabin restaurant, which is the equivalent of a brothel. Men who are traveling or passing through the area, usually around bus stops and the airport, will stop at these restaurants and buy the girls for as much time as their money will get them. Most of these men will be granted money from their villages to go abroad and work but when they come back home, they will spend all their earnings in these places. When a girl is purchased at the restaurant, she is at the service of the male who buys her time. Statistics show that before the earthquake, 50,000 of these restaurants existed. Since then, the number has drastically increased. Many of the girls working in these places are under the age of 18. Each girl working there has a different story. Some are abandoned orphans, some are tricked or kidnapped into being there, and some are single mothers just trying to get by. They all have a story and I wish I could know each of them. I wish I could show them their worth. I wish I could make them believe that they deserve so much more than the “love” they are receiving. But mainly, I wish that they could see themselves as God sees them.
While in one of the cabin restaurants, we were able to talk to a beautiful 18-year-old girl. Her bright eyes were filled with hope and curiosity as she gazed upon us. She asked one of the girls in our group, “Have you always felt beautiful?” As my squad mate opened up about her own personal struggle with negative self-image, I could not help but think about how I could relate. These past few months, God has been opening my eyes to see myself as He sees me. When you start seeing yourself the way God sees you, your eyes literally change. You start to see a completely different person looking back at you in the mirror. You also experience a freedom unlike any felt before, a freedom that can only come from God. When my squad mate returned the question, “Have you always felt beautiful?” The young girl’s answer was a timid headshake while mumbling no. NO? Such a heartbreaking response. She could not see her own beauty because she was surrounded by so much darkness. My beautiful friend, God has a message for you.
My child, you don’t know you’re beautiful?
I am the one who gave you life, you are My creation and everything I create is GOOD.
I created the beautiful, majestic mountains that surround you, but I also created you out of that same beauty.
When you look in the mirror, you may see shame, brokenness, and the lies that are fed into your mind, but I see a beautiful part of My creation.
My darling, you ARE beautiful.
My darling, you ARE loved.
My darling, you HAVE worth.
My darling, you are my child, my daughter who I delight in.
Love your one true Father
My prayer is that one day every girl would know how God sees her and know her worth in Him. Just as the Father spoke these words tenderly to me, I pray that they would touch others as well.
