Did you have a nice weekend? My husband and I experienced our first holiday weekend as empty nesters. We decided rather than lamenting on the fact our children weren’t coming home for Easter, we would go away for the weekend. We traveled to Nashville, Tennessee.

Nashville is a fun town to visit if you are a foodie or a lover of music, of which I’m both. We had a great time exploring different restaurants and eateries throughout the city. We started at Puckett’s, an old grocery store turned restaurant, where we kicked back eating delicious food and listening to singer/songwriters share their music. It was very relaxing and a great introduction to Nashville.

Saturday was filled with unusual venues for food,
such as Edley’s BBQ for breakfast and Jeni’s Ice Cream for lunch. (Yes, we had ice cream for lunch. Don’t judge!) We wrapped up our culinary experience at a restaurant hidden in the back roads of a neighborhood. City House is a must if you visit Nashville, but be forewarned, you must request reservations well in advance (meaning days).

We also decided to head to Music Row to listen to a variety of music. We heard everything from pop music to rap (which I was not expecting in Nashville) to good authentic country. It was most entertaining, especially when you throw in the people watching.

We ended our stay by worshipping Easter Sunday at CrossPoint Church. I have to say, being in Nashville, I wasn’t surprised when they had special music provided by a familiar name and face. Natalie Grant blessed us all with a song.  It was stellar!

[You’re welcome, by the way, for my personal travel guide to Nashville. Actually, props go to Annie Downs for providing her suggestions. MOST EXCELLENT!]

On our way home yesterday, we stopped at a local BBQ place about two hours outside of Atlanta. When we were leaving, Mark and I couldn’t help but notice the truck parked outside.

This wasn’t in a sketchy part of town. It was a family restaurant right off of the interstate yet this truck sat in the parking lot advertising an escort service.

If there was any doubt what his business was about, he clarified with the picture of a seductive woman at the base of his sign. I blocked the phone number, but it was proudly displayed.

That’s when it hit me. We can take a vacation. We can leave town when we need a change of venue or a break from our day to day lives, but the victims of sex trafficking cannot. They are required to do the same thing over and over, day in and day out, without pay, without vacation, and without thinking they will ever experience anything different.

As one pimp I interviewed said,

We may doze, but we never close.”

Our culture has slipped so far into depravity that someone not only could, but would advertise the ability to purchase a person on a truck just as if he were advertising any other product he had for sale. While we go on about our daily routines, people are held in captivity.

We cannot turn a blind eye to it! We can’t pretend we don’t know.

We are called to do what Jesus did and even greater things [John 14:12]. That includes fulfilling Isaiah 61:1,

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,”

Please, I beg you, step into the fight, in some way, big or small. I believe each generation has a monumental issue they are faced with before them. My parent’s generation was faced with the fight for racial equality. We’ve made great strides in that fight, even though there is still work to be done. I believe the issue for our generation is human trafficking. We must step up to the task with the boldness of Martin Luther King, Jr. and draw the line in the sand and say no more!