Happy Independence Day friends!
This entry is dedicated to every man and woman that has served in the military and their families. Not only do I sincerely appreciate your service, but when I come in contact with many of you that have served and hear your stories or stories of your family, I am reminded that freedom in this world is not truly free. It cost all of us something. Through blood sweat and tears it must be fought for with the greatest of sacrifices.
I an immigrant, Independence Day means many things to me. It means not only freedom from oppression across the borders of this great country, but also freedom from fear in every shape and form. It means not only freedom to be free, but freedom to have a good life, a good marriage, a good family.
As with all things, I believe this is true even in marriage.
Love must be fought for.
Here is the story of a young Chinese woman looking for freedom.
Like thousands of others, she had dreams of living in the United States of America, the land of the free. She stands in line for immigration with two boys, one child strapped to her back and the other barely tall enough to hold on her hand. In a series of fortunate events, not long after a painful divorce, she catches a break and meets another man who gives her hope for the future. He helps her with immigration papers and with a stroke of luck, she and her children travel to the beautiful islands of Hawaii across the great Pacific Ocean.
The story takes a turn. When she arrives in the USA, she is brought to a family, coereced into marrying a young man and forced into hard labor. Without realizing it, she was sold into slavery and trafficked along with her children against her will.
Through the help of friends and allies aware of her situation, within a short span of time, she and her children barely escaped her captors.
If you do not know our family personally, then you may not know the story above is part of mine. I was the two year old child holding my mother’s hand when we were brought into USA. My first introduction the the USA was not what my mother planned to say the least.
Sadly, I found there is a very low percentage of men, women, and children who escape human slavery. It is not only a crime in this country but one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Yes, while you read this, people are being sold for a price. Slavery still exists, even today in this country.
Yet there are many people and organizations that combat this growing industry of human slavery, in all its forms.
Remember freedom is not free. There is always a price to pay for freedom and the free fight violently for it.
For freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1
I have learned over the years that it is our stories that make us special, not our suffering. Don’t get it twisted. What my family suffered is only a glimpse of the suffering that goes on in human slavery today. My suffering is not uncommon.
This is what a victim mentality cannot understand. Suffering is actually meant to bring us together, not set us apart. My marriage is not prey to my past fears.
Pain is meant to cause us to reach out for help. The voice of fear suffers in silence, while the voice of freedom demands to be heard!
What the enemy meant for evil, God means for a powerful good. It can shape who we are and our message for the future. I really believe pain can pacify us or provoke us to fight. We must choose to fight for freedom not foster fear in our hearts.
Freedom is a choice. Freedom will always remain far more powerful than fear.
In recent conversation with relatives, as we shared our stories with one another one of the common threads we all saw in each of them was that pain is part of the process and we must not avoid it.
I can remain a victim and avoid the issues in my life indefinitely or I can share my story of suffering and find healing in the process. Shrek was right. Like an onion, our stories have layers to uncover. 🙂
I have learned when we find our story, only then will we embrace God’s glory. My story is meant to be a message of freedom. So is yours.
As always, thanks for stopping in. Does anything here resonate with you?
Unveiling Intimacy 