who worked in the bars and many nights sold themselves for a few thousand, he
replied “They are here because they
want to be.”I thought that was a funny thing to say. As I thought about that I
wondered about the truth of his answer. Yes they were there on their own accord
and could leave whenever they wanted to. But then my thought took a bit of a
turn…
It drains us… sucks the Life out of us. Yet we daily go to our jobs, and do
what we have chosen to do. We “want” to be there… right? Some would argue
though that they go because there is nothing else… that they have to do something to earn a living. I find it interesting that on the one hand we
look at women who sell themselves and think that we must go in an show them
that there is so much more to life than that… that they can do the things they’ve
dreamed of doing. And on the other hand we ourselves do jobs we hate just as
much when we don’t have to… there is more to life than that… you can do the
things you’ve dreamed of doing.
A year ago if you had asked me about my job I
would have told you that I liked it alright. There were things about it I
didn’t like but that it was alright. At least I had a job, right? If you had
asked me what my dreams were I would have said, “To travel…see the world, meet
the people and to be honest, I’d rather do full time ministry.” If you had
asked me if I thought I would ever do any of that my honest response would have
been, “Maybe someday, but more than likely this is it. I want to do that stuff,
but with what I have… well no one can do that unless you have money.”
Today if you asked me about my job I would smile
and say “I’m doing what I was made to do, and even though it has its rough
days, I wake up every morning stunned that this is actually my life… It is
amazing.”
What Changed? Reality. How? I just stopped buying
into the shitake mushrooms that others drove into my head as “Reality”. The
women we have met have been served a load of shitake mushrooms. They have been
told that they have to sell their bodies to make a living to support their
families… Families that typically stays home sending out their daughters. The women then believe that the dreams they
have are unobtainable. They don’t mind
it because it is for the greater good. Sacrifices must be made sometimes in
order to provide for their families.
Life doesn’t have to be something we just do. It
wasn’t meant to be this routine of mundane moments with brief seconds of true
joy. We’ve been given our hopes and dreams for a reason. That Job you’ve always
dreamed of doing is possible. You just have to choose it. You have to choose to
trust that God is big enough to give you the things you need and the way in
which to get there. You just have to
keep pressing into Him. He doesn’t want you to hate your life, or even your
job. You were created for a purpose woven together with desires, dreams and
hopes. He made this world and breathed life into you so that you would praise
Him for the thing He has done…And just like the women of the bars, you don’t
have to settle. There is something more… There is a life waiting to be lived… enjoyed, delighted in…and its right
there. You just have to choose to make that move… To take that step…To stop
buying into someone else’s version of reality where you do what you have to and step into the Heavenly one
you were created for. It could be the best way to begin this New Year…
But I can’t force you to, no one can. All I can
do is assure you that there is more… more than you could believe to be
possible… I know because He opened my eyes up to it. I have seen Him make a Way
where I never had seen one before. Choosing to take a flying leap of faith ,
stepping into the unseen I’ve stepped into a Heavenly Reality far more
authentic that the one I knew before….
It’s Real…It’s Beautiful…It’s Life…
