It is for Freedom!

The pin in the above picture is a pin I got a while back. It was for an event and it was actually sent by a different organization. I got a bunch of them for a Freedom Sunday event we did a few years ago through International Justice Mission. I thought it was cool, being the name of the organization the Lord has called me to lead is called FREE. FREE stands for Freedom and Restoration for Everyone Enslaved. But since that's a mouthful, we go by the acronym FREE. We are a non-profit organization that does anti-human trafficking work. We have three pillars at FREE; Prayer, Community Awareness and Restorative Care.

I wore this pin today because I wanted to be reminded to lift FREE up to the Lord in prayer. I figured wearing a pin on the sleeve of my sweater that says "FREE" would make that easy. I am always at my computer, at least it feels that way. This means I will continually see the pin, and continually be reminded to pray for FREE; our women's drop-in center, future home and upcoming fundraiser. Also, my team. I have a faithful group of people that I lovingly refer to as The FREE Team. I am so blessed by them!

If you are part of The FREE Team and you are reading this, please know that I love you and I am so unbelievably grateful for you. I think of you often, and I pray for you.

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:3-6

We have a fundraiser coming up in November, and I need to lift this organization up to the Lord as much as possible. Hence...the pin.

My days are busy right now. B. U. S. Y...BUSY! One profession I can assure you I will never do for a living is event planning. Event planning is not for the faint of heart. It's hard stuff.

If I can be honest, I have been feeling weighed down, tired and a tad overwhelmed. My husband will probably laugh at the word "tad." Pray for him. :)

I think it became obvious to me last week when we had a team meeting. The first red flag was I decided not to prepare the usual agenda. Very out of character for me. Then the glaring red flag came shortly thereafter when I went to the store and bought a bunch of food, went to the office early that evening and sprawled it out across the table. Everyone was happily surprised to see the snack-filled table that night. And in true Jersey-Italian form, I proceeded to push everyone to eat.

I made a joke that night about the food and my emotional state and we all got a good laugh. But truly, that was an indicator of where I was in that moment; tired, needing to be comforted (Jersey-Italian=food) and needing to take it slow and more relaxed.

This work is not easy. It can make us feel heavy. I know, personally, I can become discouraged and anxious over the unknowns. If you are anything like me and my Type A personality, you like things clearly spelled out, you like everything neatly in a box and organized, and you like to know what every next step is going to be.

This work is pretty much the complete opposite of that, in that nothing is spelled out, most days I have no idea what the next step is, and my tidy box is often opened up and stuff is falling out everywhere. Goodbye to my comfy and convenient "everything is black and white" brain. Oh, hello "gray" and "I feel like I am hanging on by a wing and a prayer."

I have never lived more in the gray in my life! It's the most uncomfortable place for me!!

But in the gray is where I have felt the Lord do so much work in me. He has pruned me. He has sanctified me. I almost hear the Lord chuckling now. Let's just say I still have a long way to go.

That's why I also needed to wear this pin today. I needed to remember.

He. Is. God.

I'm not.

I needed to remember today the good stuff requires moving out of the shallows and going into the deep end. I just told someone that recently. Leading FREE feels like I am always in the deep end. Some days I long to hang back out in the shallows like the old days. But I have found the deep end is where our trust and faith grows. It's where we die to ourselves and allow Christ to fully live through us. I am learning there's nothing extraordinary or real in the places that appear perfectly coiffed. (that's fake anyway) Messy and hard is where the big work is done. Kingdom work requires pulling up our sleeves and getting dirty. Kingdom work requires us being fully done with ourselves and being fully dependent on God!

At FREE, there's one thing we know for sure. We must be fully dependent on God. We can't do this apart from Him. We cannot do this work without Him showing up. Jesus is the center of it all.

He will get all the glory.

I looked down at the word "FREE" today on my wrist and I said "we need miracles, Lord." And He replied, "I am a miracle working God." Amen!

Maybe you need to hear this today.  He is a miracle working God. 

Then as I continued looking at those four letters, He shifted my attention from an organization to the freedom He has given me. He reminded me of this verse,

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

What particularly stuck out to me was the beginning of that verse. I read it and Jesus reminded me to not be so burdened. He reminded me that it is for freedom that He set me free. He reminded me He is a God of the new! He isn't asking me to carry all the burdens of FREE. He is asking me to partner with Him. He is asking me to abide in Him. He is asking me to trust Him. He is asking me to have faith in Him and His miracle working ways. He is asking me to not be distracted by the things of this world and how the world views success. He is asking me to partner with Him in the sacred and holy work of setting the captives free.

It IS sacred and holy work.

What an honor we have as followers of Christ.

I realized today I have been too weighed down. I am not continually abiding. God, forgive me.

Maybe there's something today that is weighing you down. Maybe there's something you feel so burdened by and you are overwhelmed, anxious and scared. May I encourage you to lay it at Jesus' feet. May I encourage you to abide in Him so closely you can feel His breath. Share your burden with someone. Ask someone to pray for you. None of us have it all together. I have said it once and I will say it again, if you are around people that act like they have it all together and are never struggling, slowly back out and run for the hills. They aren't being real.

We need to be real!

What you may be going through may be ugly, hard, exhausting and you may feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. May I remind you that it is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Allow Jesus to take that weight off your shoulders.

Stand firm.

In Him, you are free.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  
The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, 
for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
 Galatians 2:20-21

***As Believers, we don't need to be burdened down by the things of this world, but our hearts should break for the things that break the Lord's heart. Human Trafficking breaks the Lord's heart. Women and children being brutally sexually exploited day in and day out breaks the Lord's heart.