Worry Transformed To Faith

As I sat in my Language Arts classroom with my discipleship group, our leader managed to shatter our sheltered lives by introducing us to Dressember. I had heard of human sex trafficking; but since it never really affected me, I never gave it much thought. Once Mrs. Layton explained to us that the Dressember movement is fighting to stop human sex trafficking, I felt a strong calling to actively participate in bringing God’s kingdom to this broken part of our society.

Mrs. Layton had us research human sex trafficking before we made a commitment to supporting Dressember. After reading articles and girls’ stories, I felt a rush of sadness wash over me. Realizing what these girls go through was devastatingly heartbreaking, and I couldn’t take it. I sat there overwhelmed of what was going on in the world, of what could happen to me or the people I care about. I wanted to stop it, and I realized my heart was broken for what breaks God’s heart.

After everything I read and heard about sex trafficking, I wanted to be courageous and stand up for what I believed was wrong in the world. Except, what I mostly felt was worry. Worry that our school administration would not approve a school-wide participation. Worry that we would not be able to get our classmates to participate. Worry that even if we did get through all of those obstacles, that our participation wouldn’t make a difference. Except we did make a difference! Those obstacles did not keep us from what God had in store for us.

Our school administration gave us the go-ahead, and our classmates were enthusiastic about supporting and participating in Dressember. My worry was transformed into faith. All of the girl participants wore dresses throughout the month of December. The boys were able to participate by wearing bow ties. Eighteen of us committed to raising awareness about sex trafficking. We were able to raise $836.52. This money enabled three young women to leave a life of misery. A group of middle schoolers were used by God to bring healing to what breaks His heart. I can only say this continues to blow my mind.

Dressember was used by God to alter the way I live for the better. It opened up my eyes to the world around me, and forced me to see that everything is not perfect. I had been living in a sheltered environment; I didn’t want to believe what was going on in the world. Now I know what breaks my Father’s heart, and now I can be an active agent in God’s Kingdom.  

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