grout, sweat, my bracelet, & Jesus.

i was on my knees, bending over on the tile floor.
sweat dripping down, while my hands and nails got scratched up
tiredness started to take over my body, as my mind began to wander.
i was scrubbing the floor, one speck of grout at time
thinking about why i wasted water in a shower two hours ago.
then i glanced at my hand; and time seemed to stop.
the metal bolt on one of my bracelets caught my eye.
a bolt i put there to remind me of the women caught in the chains of sex trafficking.
the Lord then told me something as i stared at the bracelet-

this bolt is why you are sweating.
the meaning behind that bracelet is the reason you are here.
there are women who are on their knees like you, but are crying out for help.
women who are literally being beaten and forced into sex.
little girls sweating, nervously doing what their pimp forces them to do.
jillian, this discomfort you are experiencing, for a very short amount of time, is for these women.
providing them with a home is why the annex exists.
i do not want them to suffer.
they are being controlled, hurt, and manipulated.
i am here with you and i am with the women caught in the chains.
my mercy has always been the same and will never cease.
keep going, keep praying for these women, keep telling others about what is happening
and i will continue on loving. 

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God uses small things, like a pink bracelet I made last year, to remind me of how good He is. Yes, there are still women and children suffering, but God is just, merciful, and loving. He always has all of these attributes. I am so thankful for ministries like Source that are doing things for the people caught in trafficking. In my previous post, I mentioned how I wanted to start to do things and not just know about the issue. God is so faithful and He provided me with the opportunity to do. I thought I would just go and help Source and the women who would eventually be living at the Annex, though God wanted to help me by telling me some things while I was scrubbing the floors.

God used grout, sweat, and a bracelet to teach me about a new sense of joy we can have when we live for Him. He also used these items to remind me of the pain Jesus went through on the cross and how big of an act of love that was.