A Text

I was with two of my friends last night. We were just chatting and laughing about different things when my phone buzzed. It was a text. I don't text. But the picture that showed was eerily familiar as if it was a deja vu from a dream. I quickly opened my phone pleading, "Oh God, please no. Please let this be a sick joke."  The text was a video. It began playing. It showed one of my good friends peering through blinds on a window. Through the window I could see the picture on the far left wall. It was of a young toddler. My friend was sobbing uncontrollably. I shut my phone, shoved it into my pocket and without telling my friends what was going on was out the door and headed to my friend's (who was in the video) apartment. I busted through the door to find my friend held by her husband as she sat hunched over crying. Their 7 month old lying on the ground playing with his blanket obvious to the current events.  I sat down to hear the story of how their beautiful 2.5 year old daughter was trafficked. The pain was unbearable. I was frantic, horrified, infuriated, and paralyzed. 

My eyes bolted awake to the darkness of my room. My heart was pounding. It was only a dream but all of my being believed it to be true. I cried out continuously to God to protect my friend's beautiful daughter that nothing like that would ever happen to her. I was restless in prayer until at some point I feel back asleep. 

How come we are able to see slavery as a distant concept? As if people are not the ones being raped of their dignity and worth? What if it was your child? Maybe you don't have a child but what if it was someone in your life who was trafficked? What then? Just a concept. Just something that sucks but I can't do anything about? I praise God that this dream is not reality but it IS reality for 27 million people like my friend's daughter.