“Jesus.. says, 'Let go of your complaints, forgive those who loved you poorly, step over your feelings of being rejected, and have the courage to trust that you won't fall into an abyss of nothingness but into the safe embrace of a God whose love will heal all your wounds.” ― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Here and Now: Living in the Spirit

I love public speaking. I never thought I would say that. I mean, I love drama and acting but that is NOT public speaking. I do not enjoy leading small groups, I do not enjoy speaking in front of big groups, but for some reason I love speaking publicly about what the Lord is doing in Bulgaria. It is as if I am given the words to say and the energy and enthusiasm to say them! In fact...I know that I am given the words and energy and enthusiasm to say them. :) 

I have been traveling these past few weeks; speaking at women's events, sunday school classes, having 'one on ones'...I have loved every minute of it. The more people that know about what is happening the more prayer is spoken and the more awareness is raised. Another reason I love to speak about this issue is because people feel freedom to speak about their own sexual brokenness. I enjoy talking about this issue at churches, so many men and women go through their entire lives with a secret that causes them to feel isolated from the rest of the world. All of us have secrets that cause us to think, 'No one can possible know this or understand this. Everyone else has such pure lives.' This is a lie from Satan. 

So many people never speak of that one (or many) thing that happened in the past. And why not? If we have an all knowing, all loving Father who forgives everything...why can't we? Why do we make it so difficult to speak the Truth about our brokenness? We all struggle sexually. Why? Because God made us to be sexual beings. He made us to love and to be loved...FULLY! But we live in a fallen world, and sexuality and sex is broken. 

We should not be silencing people's sins, hurts and desires...we should be a community of open arms. A community that loves unconditionally. A community that speaks openly about sex and what can and will happen if it is taken out of context. And even in context! We should be a church that never has 'hush hush' topics. Why? Because Jesus' words cover everything. He spoke love and truth into the broken lives of hurting people, sexually broken people, prideful people, arrogant people, and into lonely people...Why can't we be a people that speak truth and love into this broken world, into broken hearts that so desperately ache to be accepted and loved? Why can't we be vulnerable enough and honest enough to our community about what we struggle with? God give us your eyes, your words, your love and your compassion to speak truth and love into this broken world...this broken world that needs you so desperately. Give us strength and courage to be open about our sins and desires and allow people to be freed from the lies that so often isolate and destroy the human soul. 

“Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into the places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion, and anguish. Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears. Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human.” 
― Henri J.M. Nouwen