Now let's talk about what happened tonight!
This evening we were blessed with the opportunity once again to spend about an hour in a strip club dressing room. It was a phenomenal experience that we are honored to have been a part of.
Tonight was the 1 year anniversary to our dressing room make over and we are still receiving "thank you's" for that. I only say this because we joked with a manager tonight about how they all thought the room would have been destroyed within a few weeks and one year later it still looks great. They ladies have been taking wonderful care of it and it has provided them with a safe and clean sanctuary from the busy-ness and craziness that exists on the floor of the club.
Standing in that dressing room tonight we experienced God in so many ways. Our team celebrated "D"s one year of sobriety! Way to go, D!!!!! What a HUGE God thing! We encountered women who have been receiving our words of encouragement and gifts for a while but have never been able to meet us. We were also able to congratulate and celebrate new life as well. "J" had her baby 7 weeks ago. She finally got her baby girl! Another woman finally broke free from an unhealthy relationship and is finding herself, her worth and her identity again!
In total, God enabled us to speak with 17 women tonight, who were open and anxious to meet with us. We spent an hour in the dressing room having what can only be explained as a divine moment. We met several new women and hugged many we've known for a while. We listened to their stories, to their pains, to their joys and shared in the Spirit-filled moments of the evening.
I have to tell you also about this one last moment that closed out the night. The three of us had opportunity to listen to "G"s amazing story of how God is orchestrating powerful things in her life. He has placed a friend in her life that is guiding her and walking with her, praying with her, encouraging her. "G" is having a major surgery in a week and is scared to death. Our team gathered around this woman in the manager's office, laid hands on her and prayed out loud, not only for her, but also for her children, the surgery and so much more. It was all we could do to not ball our eyes out in the middle of the club.
God is doing awesome things and tonight we were able to be stewards of his love and be present in these precious moments of even more precious lives. We are constantly blown away by his faithfulness to each and every part of his creation!
When writing our words of encouragement I always rely on God to give me the words and sometimes when I'm finding them and writing them they just don't make sense to me. But standing in the club tonight's words of encouragement suddenly meant the world in the moments we experienced:
Expect your prayers to be answered
in wondrous ways.
The dry seasons in life do not last.
The spring rains
will come again.
~Sarah Ban Breathnach
Across our lifetime
there is only Love.
The nights of crying your eyes out
the times of insecurity
the pain of passing moments
give way to something greater
to days of laughter
to times of joy.
And looking over it all
seeing the big picture
there is an
overwhelming Love.
You are loved beyond measure.
You are not alone.
You matter more than you know.
You are a treasure!