Yesterday we celebrated "T-g's"  36th birthday. One of the team members heard her birthday had just passed and planned a party to celebrate. She baked a cake, bought a small present and set up a party – hats and all! We ordered seafood pizza (Thai's favorite generally) and had a nice lunch together. Then the cake came out  and "T-g" blew out the candles. The cake was cut and served and we laughed and chatted. I asked "T-g" if she had ever had a birthday cake before. She said this was the first time in her life to have her birthday celebrated. Her words began to stick in her throat and she began to cry holding back a dam of emotion. She was overcome with the love being shown her. A few months before, "T-g" had considered suicide. She has struggled with feelings of rejection and insignificance. She has such a low self image that when she greets us or thanks us she bows way down. When she came to us she rarely looked up and was embarrassed to talk with us. It has been a delight to watch her grow, to see her laugh and gain confidence.

 

As I was leaving NightLight I went to wish "T-g" Happy Birthday again, give her a hug and tell her we love her. She bowed and thanked us again. I told her that the love of God for her is even greater than the love we have for her. She began to cry again. Throughout the day she glowed and was overcome with this feeling of love and value that had been demonstrated to her. I once heard Tony Campolo share a story of a birthday party with prostitutes at a diner in Hawaii. His words ring with me as I think of the joy I saw in "T-g". "We need to be known as the church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes!"

 

We all feel so helpless when confronted by the overwhelming statistics of sexual exploitation. What can we do to help? We are severely unequipped to address the complexity of issues that victims struggle with. Is there anything we can do to make a difference when we can't speak their language, when we don't know the experience of sexual abuse, when we haven't been trained in social work, psychology, or their culture? Christ built relationships with the people in eating with them, celebrating with them and interacting with them in their pain. Sometimes it may well be that God's love and grace will speak the loudest when we take time to celebrate someone's life with something as simple as a birthday cake!