Even the Prostitute

Last week, I was blessed with extra time one afternoon to over prepare for my Wednesday night girls group.  Because the curriculum is slightly outdated and somewhat LAME, I generally choose to redo it. I am tragically inconsistent, but every once in a while God steps in and helps me out.  

We have been talking about college and career.  True to my expectations of these lessons, everything was a little too... ugh... for me.  

Now, I'm an M.Ed in Guidance and Counseling, pro-college, pro-life planning, pro-education type of girl.  But I also am acutely aware of how often we package our expectations and try to align Christian values and a certain level of professional success.  Achingly upper-middle class.  

I'm also a social worker, culture of poverty, social justice soapbox kind of girl... and I was kind of struggling to rectify it all.  

Throughout this unit, I kept feeling like God wanted us to talk about more.... dig deeper.  Get a little gritty and real. In my notes I had scribbled - 

"God doesn't care as much about what we do as He does about who we become".

Initially, I had been drawn to Rahab.  I'm generally drawn to the women in the Bible who don't fit the mold.  The ones God redeems.  The ones God uses to show us that He loves us no matter what.

I resisted my gut and decided not to focus on how God allowed a prostitute to help with His master plan.  Heaven forbid anyone thinks I'm encouraging girls to choose prostitution as a career.... so I listed a bunch of other jobs and names all around her underneath another scribbled question - 

"Are there career choices where God can't use someone?"

We covered everything tonight and had amazing conversation... but, true to my gut instinct, we ended up talking about Rahab.  In a flurry of excitement, I threw her name out for everyone to think about. There were the snorts of derision about prostitution, and we digressed.  

We talked about human trafficking and sex slavery, and how there are still so many women and children sold into this kind of slavery throughout the world.  We talked about how God doesn't view the prim and proper middle class Christian woman as any better than the blatant, scandalous, sell-it-on-the-corner prostitute.  He loves every. one.  We talked about the tendency to get stuck in our mindset and look down our noses at those who chose a lifestyle we have deemed unworthy and illicit. We talked about the absence of choice so many women have in this messed up world and how we can never assume we know someone's heart based on their situation.

My heart aches for my girls to understand to their very core the great love God has for us all.  I want to roar when I see those who have been set free contributing to the oppression of the broken or ignoring the agony of the lost.  And I am constantly checking myself because I know I am just as guilty. It's so tempting to look the other way.

We skimmed the surface of a murky, ugly mess, and I left a little raw.   

Tonight, I came home and read Kristen's newest blog post and sobbed.  I love her for her honesty and passion and her commitment to women and children all over the world.  I want to be like her when I grow up.  

Until then, I'm praying that our honest, gritty, messy conversation tonight... the one that pulled off a few scabs and left my insides aching... left an impression, lit a spark, furthered empathy.  Helps them to remember Jesus died for us all.... even the prostitute.