Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Dressember day 31.

December 31, 2014. 
This not only means that tomorrow begins a new year, but it also means that tomorrow I can wake up and put on jeans or sweatpants instead of deciding which dress I want to wear for the umpteenth time. It's a really strange feeling actually, and part of me is sad. Dressember has been such a good experience in so many ways for me. I've continually been reminded of the redemption we find in Christ. I've found joy in seeing others participating and finding new passions. I've been thankful each and every day when I do put on a dress and am reminded of the life-giving freedom I have found in my Savior. The other day a friend of mine was watching a documentary on sex-trafficking and asked, "Kelsey, how am I suppose to relate to these women?" And I couldn't really give an answer because we can't- I've lived a pretty freaking privileged life. I complain about putting on a dress while women around the world are sitting on a stained bed in tattered rags. I complain when my legs are cold through my tights while women are forced to stay outside at truck-stops waiting for customers to strip them of their dignity. I complain about wearing a dress for 31 days in a row..but you know what? Most days I felt truly beautiful, loved,and supported while millions of women have never felt beautiful but instead feel used and unworthy of love. This oppression is normal for many women and that's what struck me most this December. One day I picked out my dress and thought about how putting a dress on each morning was becoming normal, and suddenly I was HORRIFIED. For so many women, enslaved in trafficking or not, oppression is normal. Feeling unloved and unworthy is normal. Abuse is expected. Being raped up to 40 times a day is normal. Many women in trafficking don't know another reality and therefore don't even self-identify as victims. This makes me hurt. It literally makes me sick. Each women is a beloved daughter of the King, relentlessly pursued by their maker, and should be treated as such. This is why I fight. I fight so love, joy, and beauty will be normal for women around the world instead of abuse, oppression, and hopelessness. 

Dressember is about embracing femininity, standing up for the oppressed and enslaved, and fighting for women everywhere to feel beautiful and be free. I've been blessed to take a stand with thousands of others around the world but it doesn't end today. Keep praying. Keep learning. Keep having those tough conversations, and keep fighting for the voiceless.  























Isaiah 58:10-11
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
 with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and spend yourself in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
  then your light will rise in the darkness,
 and your night will become like the noonday. 
The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land 
and will strengthen your frame." 

2 comments:

  1. Love you Kelsey! So proud of what you have done this month, you are a gem.

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  2. Awe - so inspired by you and all those who stand in the gap for the oppressed, enslaved, beaten and abused. Keep following HIM and being HIS light in this dark world. Blessings sweet lady.

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