I find myself on my knees again, crying out to Abba.
Every box that the girls checked told part of a story. It released their secret onto the piece of paper. When we took the papers and passed them out randomly, you could see them studying their new paper like a test that had just been graded. I read through each line.
“I have drank alcohol. I have done drugs. I have had sex. I have struggled with pornography. I have been molested. I have HIV/AIDS. I have had an abortion. I have a child. I have a family member who has committed suicide.”
The list goes on and on. Each time I read a sentence, I forced myself to look around at the young girls standing because the box on their paper represented someone admitting to what it said. With every line that was read, my heart broke more and more. I would have never guessed that these circumstances would be so popular. These girls were 10, 11, 12, and 13 years old, yet they’ve gone through so much. This was the first activity and we had a whole day ahead of us.
We got into small groups and mine was made up of girls from grade 5 that I’ve been working with this month. They were about 10 and 11 years old and within the week we’ve gotten to know each other decently. We went around the circle and shared our burdens. One girl I’ve gotten particularly close with looked at me with these crocodile tears in her eyes. She began to share about how she can never eat before school because their family doesn’t have food. At nights they don’t always eat either because they still haven’t found money to provide. As tears streamed down her face, they also started streaming down mine. She went on to talk about how they maybe eat dinner every other night if they’re lucky. My heart hurt. This fierce, intelligent, and compassionate girl that I’ve grown to know is going hungry more times than not. I felt helpless. This was one story which was followed by many more. My heart continued to break.
People amaze me. The joy that they radiate and the compassion they have for one another is absolutely beautiful and continually reminds me that God is moving through these girls. The way they love each other is inspiring and they completely meet their friend where they are. There was 51 girls at this Beauty for Ashes event and when you mix girls, Jesus, and vulnerability together amazing things happen.
God continues to break my heart and He also continues to blow me away.
