Rise Up

"Mom, can I pick the song we listen to?"

"Sure...what song"

"27 million"

We listen to this popular song about the tragedy of there being 27 million people living in slavery in this very day. The most ever in the history of mankind.  As we are listening, I hear my two boys, practically yelling the words of the song:

"We've got to rise up, open our eyes up.  Be a voice, be a freedom,  come on and stand up!"

Tears roll down my face.

My biggest fear is them growing up and realizing what this song is really about and asking:

"Mom and Dad...what did you do to stop it?"

Will I tell them that we listened to a really popular song a lot?  That we knew human trafficking was a real problem in our lifetime and we decided to spend our prayers, resources and time on something more fun and less dangerous?  I want to be a part of this horrendous evil coming to an end.  When you look at a such a huge number, you often want to think, "what can I possibly do?"  or "someone else with more power, influence, etc. will do something."  I know of a couple of things that I want to do:

1.  Pray about this every single day.  Battle for these precious ones to be set free.
2.  Go on a mission trip to minister to people coming out of slavery.
3.  Give to ministries that battle.
4.  Help people in my very own town, one of the biggest hubs of human trafficking.

I may seem foolish to think I can make a difference, but I don't really care.  I recently read this blessing:

by Sr. Ruth Fox, OSB (1985)

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator,
Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour,
and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide,
be with you and remain with you, this day and forevermore.

AMEN

I want to make a difference.  I don't want to sit on the sidelines and watch someone else change the world.   I want to be able to tell generations after me that I was brave and did something about the biggest thing going on during my own generation.  I want to be a part of what God is doing in this generation.  

I pray that we will all be foolish enough to think that we can make a difference.  Maybe, if we are, we actually can.