Feeling Overwhelmed ...

Things are still wild for me. Somehow I forget each year that the Christmas holidays merge with work deadlines and travel to create the perfect storm of busyness. I am back in my hometown this week, enjoying the bliss of doing nothing or next to nothing with my family. My dad has the week off and that makes it even better. I'm observing my strict, self-imposed rule that when I am here, I act like I am here by disconnecting from the online world and my cell phone. These visits are precious and rare and all the other stuff will still be there when I fly home. Speaking of which ...

When I get back home next week, a flurry of work will be waiting. But by the second week of January, I ought to be back to a slightly saner pace and more regular blogging.

Here's one item of note:

The movie Amazing Grace is now available on DVD. Go rent it, or better yet—buy it, and enjoy the movie that opened my eyes to the modern issue of slavery.

There Are No Words

I had a Friday evening free and the house to myself, so I decided to watch a movie called "Human Trafficking". There are really no words for what this movie did to me. The brutality of the sex trade and its insidious nature are portrayed so well that it literally made me sick. When the film ended, I was curled up on the couch, crying (which I had been doing for at least 2/3 of the movie). The idea that human beings could do this to other human beings is difficult for me to grasp, but I know it happens. It makes me want to do three things:

1. Vomit. It really is that upsetting. As a woman, all I could think was What if this happened to me or my sister or my friend? And how would you even begin to put your life back together?

2. Go find a place where this happening and bust out all the women. (I know that I am not equipped to do this, but if I ever got a chance ...) Actually, it does make me consider finding out if there are any local groups who reach out to women trapped in prostitution or help them deal with the issues afterward. On the way home from work tonight, I must have passed half a dozen strip joints--so sad.

3. Pray, pray, pray! This is a world wide evil, and we are all kidding ourselves if we think we are smart enough to bring it down ourselves. Only God can stop something this evil. Then there are the victims. How do you ever live a normal life after being exploited like this?! It seems that healing in these situations really comes by miracle only.

For the time being, I think I am done watching any kind of dramas about modern-day slavery. Another one might push me over the edge. If you want to get a feel for the real evil of slavery, especially the sex trade, this movie does that. But be careful; it is explicit and hard to watch.