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June 13, 2008

This week I had the privilege of seeing God’s extravagant love in action as I spent 3 beautiful days on the Sunshine Coast at Linwood House on a retreat called The Journey for women living in the Downtown Eastside. Imagine a group of women who are given the chance to leave their impoverished lives behind for 3 days, one of them never having left the city in 18 years, and travelling on a boat for the first time. Imagine the shock on their face as they entered the forest and drove on a gravel road for the first time. 
Think about what it felt like to them when their gaze fell on the mansion that would be their home for a few days. It was overwhelming. One woman burst into tears, and cried for a few minutes right in the entrance to the home. I asked her what she was crying about and she replied, “I can’t believe this is happening to me! It’s like a dream come true”

The dream continued as the women settled into their Victorian decorated rooms and soaked like queens in their big soaker tubs. And later in the night as they were treated to a spa night, I saw the layers of dead hair come off and saw God show each woman how he delights in them. One woman especially touched my heart as she immediately began to look to God for change in her life. A 38 year old prostitute and drug addict who is the mother of 6 children all taken from her by the ministry, she decided that this was where she needed to make the change. And so she did. She let her tears flow freely and her anger came screaming out in the forest. And by the end of the three days of decadence where she was pampered, loved on, and learned the value of her worth, she tearfully confessed the truth of what she learned in her time on this journey. For 18 years she had told people that she was a “Crack Whore” when they asked here what she did for a living. And by God’s loving grace and extravagant love, she realized here that she is not a “Crack Whore” but a child of God. And upon knowing this decided to seek a new life in Christ. The challenges she will face are huge, but she knows she can do anything with God’s help.

Other women experienced God’s grace and love in different ways. One 54 year old woman had never been hugged or held or even told that she was loved. She had not experienced God’s love until now, and was trying to comprehend this feeling of peace that she had never known. As we shared beautiful meals together, laughed together, cried together and prayed together, God showed his extravagant love to each of us whether we knew him yet or not.

As someone who sees the pain, anger and poverty of the women living in the Downtown eastside everyday, I was so humbled and blessed to be able to see a few of them move from the slavery of their sin, to freedom in Christ, and to know that I tasted a little piece of heaven when I visited Linwood House on The Journey.