Forgotten Daughters

I don’t know what it was, but I almost had this “normal” feel about this ministry before arriving.  I guess, in a way, I’ve gotten used to being on the Race….everything is almost  “just  normal”.  I don’t really know how to explain it…I guess I was just going with it, without any real thoughts about where we were going.  I talk about how I have this heart for women, but I guess I’ve always concentrated on women in prostitution rather than these women.

 

We arrived, and I didn’t really know what to expect.  I was slightly nervous.  I was almost not too sure how to love them.  But God quickly took hold of my heart and owned it.  He began to reveal His love for these women.  Like in Hillsong’s song, “Hosanna”, there is a line that says, “Show me how to love like you’ve loved me….Break my heart for what breaks yours.”   He was beginning to do that in me.  

 

As I watched them watch us worship, then watched them worship, then watched them watch us do skits, it became apparent how much God loves these women.  It became apparent how much these women had been forgotten by everyone else, but God.  And it broke my heart to learn that most of these precious daughters of God had been abused in their past.  I would watch them tense up, or flinch, or both, as we would reach out to give them hugs.  They were responded in the most natural way to them, a way that isn’t natural in the Kingdom of God.  My heart broke for them!

 

There was one daughter that God showed me…one daughter whom He loved tremendously…and needed so much of His love.  He wanted her to know that she had not been forgotten.  I had spent most of our time at the place just observing her; noticing how she was very shy, very recluse, very nervous…but I could also tell that she was excited about our presence.  I inched my way over to her….I just wanted to give her a hug.  I caught her attention, and she began to tense up.  I reached out slowly to rub her back, and I had to fight back the tears when she flinched.  I was hurting for her.  My heart was hurting for her pain.  I just rubbed her back for a while, letting her know that I’m safe.  I reached in for a hug, and she let me hug her (although she had her defenses up-she kept her arms in front of her, almost like she was still keeping space between us).  I continued to rub her back, and finally asked for her name….Patricia…..