Do you like to play in the dirt?  My grandmother, we called Nanny, loved to work in her yard. In the spring and summer, she would be in her yard at first light, digging, planting, pulling weeds.  Her yard looked like it belonged on the cover of Southern Living Magazine or Better Homes and Gardens.  The rainbow of colors that would burst forth from every inch of her yard was like an artist’s painting.  It never failed, if Nanny was in her yard, she was dirty. She wore gloves and used a foam pad to rest her knees on, but she still managed to get dirty.  To her, it was a small price to pay for the benefit of a beautiful yard.  The harvest was worth it.
When people first hear about the issue of human sex trafficking they ask how they can help the girls. They want to be part of an extraction team or they want to get to the girls somehow to offer their love, compassion and help.  It’s a natural response, but people don’t pause long enough to weigh the cost.  There is a cost. This work isn’t for the faint of heart.  For every two steps forward you take, there seems to be one step back.  There are days you feel like you’ve poured out blood, sweet, and tears.  But, oh, it is so worth it.  It is worth it to see a young girl take a step towards freedom, towards taking control of her life and her destiny.  There’s no greater joy than hearing the sound of the chains of bondage falling to the ground.
Jesus never spent His time in the spotlight with the glamorous.  He spent His time among the thieves, the sinners, and the wounded [Matthew 9:10-13].  He reached out to the brokenhearted and brought the dead back to life [Luke 7:12-17]. In Luke 10:37, He calls us to “Go and do likewise.”  
Sometimes life gets messy. To be involved means you’re going to get a little dirty. If you’re willing, you will reap a bountiful harvest in the end. There are hurting people everywhere.  You don’t have to search far to find them. There are victims of human sex trafficking all over our nation who are desperate for someone to be willing, to be a voice for them, to reach out and walk through the healing process, or to give financially to the organizations that assist them. Are you willing to get a little dirty? How will you step into their situation today?
Today, I’ll meet you at Resolution Hope to release the next excerpt from Rescuing Hope at 5 p.m.  Join me there and invite your friends to come along.  Until then…..www.resolutionhope.org