Amy, was her name.

The first time I met her was on a spur of the moment outing to a resale shop with her brother, my boyfriend.

The moment I met her I knew we would be friends. It was an experience where I felt free to me and felt a little in awe of who she was a person.

When we walked into the resale shop she immediately sent her brother to a bookstore a few doors down and then promptly took me to the wall of wedding dresses. Yes, wedding dresses!! Her brother and I had been dating about a month, but she knew there was something special about this relationship.

As we looked at the dresses she quickly pulled one down and looked directly into my eyes and said, “Here, try it on – now!” Can I just say I was little intimidated, but a little excited at the same time.

That day this funny, bigger than life, optimistic girl found my wedding dress. Six months later she would turn around and help me buy this lovely dress that I would soon wear to marry her brother.

Amy, was her name. She was bigger than life itself. She was one those people who you couldn’t say no to, but were glad when you said yes. She loved life and loved people.

She had no idea that as she walked through this world there was someone that was closely watching her, ME.

I watched as she loved people, included people, and had a heart for those who were hurting. There was no one she was not willing to wrap her arms around and pull into her world.

Amy’s world was one of movement. A world that she felt called to and saw need and wherever that was she showed up. From the wheelchair drives, to child safety days, to finding furniture or clothing for friends in need, she made it happen. There never seemed to be an obstacle for Amy or even if there was she found a way around it.

Amy’s life wasn’t an easy one. She experienced great trials, but despite those trials she moved through them.  She was one of those people who put one foot in front of the other no matter how heavy it felt. The courage she had to get up and move took her places and she experienced things that she would say, “never in a million years did I think I would have done that or gone there.”

Amy inspired me to be courageous. When I think of her I’m reminded of this quote by Ambrose Redmoon, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” As she walked through life she had fears just like we all do, but the difference was she didn’t allow those fears to control her decisions. She stepped into places and situations that brought great fear, but knew that the outcome of her decision was far better than not responding at all.

About 7 or 8 years ago I was confronted with one of our greatest human rights issues of our age, human trafficking. As I processed what I had heard and learned it was overwhelming. People selling people was beyond appalling, it was reprehensible. I had thoughts of, “What can I do? I’m just a mom.” I made excuses about why I wouldn’t get involved. I wanted to cover my eyes.

As the years past I found myself becoming more and more involved in the anti-trafficking movement. My involvement wasn’t big, but I was doing something. It was putting one foot in front of the other and walking when I knew that I did not want to. I had a lot of fear about getting involved, but that fear dissipated as I recognized my need for courage and that this issue was far more important than that of my fear. I still struggle with fear, but courage recently allowed me to step out and take the position of, Director of Engagement for My Refuge House, and aftercare home for girls who have been rescued from sex trafficking in the Philippines. http://www.myrefugehouse.org/

Do you remember I was watching Amy? I saw her courage and with her example, I too had courage.

• What might you need to have courage to do?
• Is there anyone in your life that can help you take steps in order to overcome fear?

Courage is not something easy, but it’s worth taking a risk to experience it and I’m so thankful for Amy’s example in my life.

It’s been little over five years since Amy passed away. She was only 40 when kidney cancer took her life. When Amy was diagnosed with this awful disease she had a choice about how she would respond. She could have been paralyzed by the fear of what she knew or she could step out courageously.  She chose courage.

The year before Amy’s diagnosis she wrote a book, “How to do Twice as Much in Half the Time.” http://www.ziglar.com/resources/books/twice-much-half-time-3. That’s exactly what Amy did. Because she stepped out in courage all of her life she did do “Twice as Much in Half the Time.”

http://tziglar.wordpress.com/tag/amy-jones/  From the website of Zig Ziglar

Have courage, do not fear!

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As a gifted public speaker with an in-depth understanding of trafficking, Kim conducts speaking engagements, events and acts as a My Refuge House correspondent to partners and churches.

Kim’s role in the fight to end modern day slavery and to combat the sexual exploitation of women and children has included work with My Refuge House as well as volunteering with Love146 and championing the anti-trafficking efforts of Irving Bible Church. Prior to that, Kim spent a number of years as an educator but her energy in recent years has focused on raising her children and using her gifts and passions to develop women through mentoring, speaking at seminars and retreats, and teaching in her church’s women’s ministry.

Kim is married to Barry and they have three wonderful children.