This guest post is by Lisa Jones, a wonderful speaker, writer, and just otherwise all-around talented spectacular woman. Sadly, while we lived near each other we didn’t really get to spend much time together, though I highly respect her– somehow she manages to be funny, yet wise; compelling but light-hearted. Lisa is real, seen pain, yet still believes in a greater hope for life. And she has been rocking the LBD with me, now going on a second year to bring a taste of justice on earth in this small but great way.
The Little Black Dress…that Changed the World
Sometimes, when the sun is shining, and everything is going my way, I can forget how much this world needs to change. But if you know Elisa Sue Johnson–aka, The Average Advocate–then you know your “rose colored glasses” don’t stand a chance in her presence. I spent all of twenty minutes with Elisa, last January 27th, during which she told me about the “Little Black Dress” concept. She was going to wear the same little black dress for the entire month of February, to raise awareness and funding to stop the epidemic of sex trafficking in the world. I was impressed. I was supportive. But then the question came, “Do you want to do it with me?”…yeah…um, let me get back to you on that.The question continued to nag at me long after Elisa asked it. The project was set to start up in 4 days. I’d have to make a decision–fast.
I had two out of town trips on my schedule–one speaking to some 400 teens on the
topic of purity in relationships, and the other, a weekend job interview. Both situations
for which I’d like to be able to carefully pick out my own clothing, thank you. Obviously
this wasn’t a great time for me to be joining a social experiment. After all, I really
wouldn’t be able to give this the attention it deserved. And yet, I felt a nagging
in my spirit. Ultimately I joined the project–mostly because I didn’t want to. I gave myself
permission to “back out”, if it got too hard. I told myself, “You don’t have to stick with it.
Just get over the hump, and then re-assess”.
I’m so glad Elisa, and other average advocates, are out there challenging the rest
of us to add verbs to our convictions. As is often the case, this comparatively small
sacrifice taught me things I would have never gleaned from the sidelines. It was
harder than I thought it would be. I noticed on Day 2, I was actually dealing with a
little depression. Wow. Just take away ONE of my options, and I go into withdrawal. It
didn’t take me long to make the connection: people trapped in the nightmare of human
trafficking have NO options–ever. On Day 3 I re-visited my comforting thought, “You
don’t have to stick it out, there is a way out”. I wondered if sex slaves ever comfort
themselves with the hope that, there is a way out…someone may come. It
occurred to me, that someone is us!
In my daily Bible reading today, I came across these verses:
“The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every
inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved
that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain…But Noah found
favor in the eyes of The Lord…he walked with God.” (Genesis 6:5-6,8-9)
What a relevant description of how God’s heart must break at the epidemic of man,
made in the image of God, using his freedom to exploit the bodies and lives of other
children of God. And what hope at the ability we have to find favor in the eyes of The
Lord, by walking with Him into this darkness, and breaching it with His marvelous light.
The Little Black Dress that Changed the World. Is it an overstatement? We
won’t know until we try. And there are literally millions of desperate souls hoping that we
will. Sign me up for The Little Black Dress Project, 2014. How could I say no?
Hear more from Lisa Jones at here blog, by clicking here.
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