It’s funny, when I host events, I do a lot of praying beforehand. I have to remind myself over and over again that it’s not my job to get the right people there.
Sure, I’m responsible to create a fabulous experience.
It’s my job to tell stories that will draw the right ladies. And it’s up to me to market the images, the stories and the experience in a way that feels accessible and compelling to the women who need what we’re creating, right at this exact time in their lives. But ultimately, it’s not up to me. The people who are meant to be there are always the ones who show up.
The space, the atmosphere, and the content, always adapts to them.
I saw this happen last night. I was invited, by way of a very unusual circumstance, to a gathering in a local home. When the invitation was first extended it sounded like something that would intuitively need to be a “no” for me. Scott was out of town, the boys had allergies shots in the afternoon and homework to address when we got home. Oh, and I didn’t have a babysitter.
It would have required too much from me.
Until I got the official invitation. It was an invite to learn more about the current work of International Justice Mission, an organization I’ve admired from a distance since my heart first broke over learning of human trafficking. Their mission is to “Rescue thousands, protect millions, and prove that justice of the poor is possible.” And they have a model that works to do those things so well. Throughout the world, they are working tirelessly behind the scenes to rescue individual victims by working alongside the justice system, their model is massively reducing the market for human slavery in cities around the world, proving that justice is possible for the poor.
There is so much light and hope in that story.
And yet, as they’ve made giant strides to reduce the market for slavery and injustice to the poor in the streets, brothels, bars, and businesses, they’ve witnessed the enormous growth of the darkest of this terrible darkness online. So while their mission remains exactly the same, and their model successfully functions the same way, these circumstances bring with them a hollowing risk for the people who’ve stepped up to be a light in the darkness and a voice for the voiceless. The video footage they have to watch in order to rescue, protect, and bring justice is beyond imagination. Those people will never be the same. And it broke my heart open for justice, again.
Because psychological health and healing, that’s what my family does.
Scott and I, have devoted our lives to helping people overcome the circumstances of their past and become empowered to take ownership of their futures. Additionally, Scott is specifically trained and licensed to guide the healing process for trauma from these types of issues.
It was no coincidence that I was invited last night.
And it wasn’t by chance that I made it a priority to show up, even though I didn’t understand exactly why at first.
So here’s the deal.
Sometimes you need to do the hard thing, the thing that takes more effort than you really want to give. The thing that requires more time than you have to give. When you feel that pull in your heart, sometimes you just need to figure out a way to show up.
You never know what will be waiting when you do.
to move love,
Crystal
