First let me start with the fact that women don’t know their worth in this country and I come to God’s feet knowing that it will take some deep cultural uprooting for them to realize how much their stories matter. If you’re reading this you probably know my heart for women worldwide as well as their struggle to be vulnerable, to seek words of truth, and to know of their ability to provoke change. India is no different. Women walk around with their hearts hung as low as their heads and have not the slightest idea that thousands of years ago a man was brutally beaten and hung from a cross in order to set them free of the bondage that society has strangled them in. With every drop of blood poured out He paved the way for the story of redemption to take place wherever the waters run deep and they find that oxygen is growing scarce as they drown in the very thing that they think will keep them alive, the approval of those around them.
A smile here changes the course of a woman’s entire day. Never have I asked those that I have smiled at if that’s actually true, but the drastic change in one’s composure says it all. Smile at a woman passing by and her face goes soft with embarrassment [Could she actually have meant that smile to be directed at me?], the tenseness in her shoulders begins to work itself out [This doesn’t feel the same as when others look at me. Others see my shame and the guilt I wear.], her eyes go from darting towards the ground to gleaming [It feels wonderful to have her looking at me like I’m so special.], and the disbelief in the smile she returns makes way for a look at me again and again until we are both out of the other’s sight [What does this white girl have that I don’t? Why do I feel so drawn to her presence?]. And this is when I thank my Savior. They don’t see me beneath that smile, they see His honest and remarkably memorable self. It always hits me straight in the heart when these same daughters of the King wave back at me, as if I have given them the permission to let all their walls come crashing down just for a moment.
“Hi,” my heart sings, “He sees your pain.”
Why is it that everyone here is held captive to the spirit of slavery? Written on my hand a few days ago in hopes to have it memorized was the verse
Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.”
In India, the faces I have seen and the stories I have heard make me wonder if the vast majority of the country’s women are climbing out of the deepest pits of fear. With women clawing with raw hands to get out of these holes, trapped and unaware that their sister, their mother, their neighbor, their coworker, or maybe even their closest friend has fallen down that dark, earthy trap too just nearby-Pits that are within inches of one another. Where’s the power of “Me too,” Lord?
Submit to what has always been taught or fear that breaking tradition will leave you cursed, you Indian woman. Tie yourself up in the validation of others, of men who have treated you so poorly, of ritual that strips you of your individuality or fear if your life ever really mattered, you Indian woman. Lock yourself in a life of service to a million different gods who are against you, mocking you, taunting you farther from freedom that’s been bought for you (by Jesus) or fear the shaming you’ll face if you come to trust in the ONE God who has always been for you, you Indian woman. Die a slow and painful death behind the comfort of nothing but lies, scandals, guilt, and humiliation or fear the unknown goodness of His promises, you Indian woman.
Sometimes whether it is in the grocery store, Marquette’s college library, or amidst the street vendors and busy streets of India I cry out and find myself asking “Lord, how many of these people know you?” In India if you smile at a man you are flirting or you are promiscuous. Smile at a woman and you are taking pity on her or trying to embarrass her. Smile at a beggar and you are mocking them for their attempts to get a few spare rupees off you. None of that is true behind the smiles we can’t help but smile. But just maybe the smile is merely a tool; the smile itself doesn’t matter because it is the Savior who first encouraged us to smile that shines through those pearly whites. The reason behind the smile is love and love has no boundaries while it casts off all fear. Whereas sin mars our very existence, love can take any broken man, woman, or child and make them recognizable again. That’s what India needs.
So my prayer for India is simple, but specifically for the women. That they would find shelter in the house He’s built for them of nothing but grace, love, forgiveness, and new life. That brokenness would melt off the faces of young, worn down, and old, the beautifully made Indian people. That the false idols they worship, the gods with faces of elephants and bodies of people, as well as gods of worth and promise would be deemed false and their popularity stripped forever.
There’s always a reason to smile at those who are hurting, broken, or lost and India is no exception. Let that reason be the heart of Jesus.
PS: let me encourage you to do these two things in your daily life and challenge those around you to dive into the heart of others as well.
One: Ask them their story. Deem it as important in your mind, with your mouth, and in honor of the world that tries to strike us down at every opportunity it gets. What makes them tick? Tell them you care about the passion God’s put in their heart. Who inspires them? A dream that’s written on their heart… let it come alive before you in asking about it.
And two: Gift those around you an opportunity for perspective change. [This is taken from a gift of a girlfriend.] Start thanking people for what they have done for you instead of apologizing for whatever standard you set for yourself and couldn’t live up to. When you’ve taken too long, thank them for their patience instead of apologizing for your timeliness. If they come before you with growth provoking words, thank them for their honesty and vulnerability instead of apologizing for what you’ve done wrong. Be it that the person you love most walks out of your life, thank them for the lessons instead of apologizing and pleading that you’ll change. God doesn’t punish us for making mistakes so we shouldn’t charge ourselves with such a crime either. Change a wrong act, or poor choice that “needs to be apologized for” into an opportunity to remind someone that they were Jesus for you in that moment, I promise you it’ll bring a lot of hope, clarity, and redemption into our already beat up lives.
God is on the move,
P
