Painted White.

She sits at a table with a black fitted dress on.

Her red stained lips whispered she hates what she does.

Her eyes coated with black eyeliner spoke hopelessness.

She has marks on her body from the work that she does.

She sits a table with three of her work friends waiting to be noticed. They stare blankly at eachother, hoping tonight they can make enough money for their children.

Each of them have a name, a story, and a longing to be known and loved.

 This was my reality for my month in Cambodia.

I went to the bar and sat with the women before they were picked up. We shared photos of their children and the children I watch in the states. We each had boys. They love their children more than life itself. These women were in their thirties and forties. They have been living this lifestyle for 10+ years. One of these ladies, looked me in the eye and told me she wishes she could work somewhere else. She hates giving “massages” at night. Most of these ladies mentioned in this blog are all widows. Being a widow has forced them to work in this environment. They lack education. They lack money to get an education. On paper, they have no hope.

They literally have NO other option but to sell their bodies.

I can see it in their eyes that they do not have hope, love, or an understanding of their worth. Satan has robbed them of their identities. From my experiences, these women believe they can never be pure, shameless, loved, or valued…               After I got back to the states, I was asking the Lord how He sees all the women I met in Cambodia. I heard the words “Painted White”, but these words are way more than just for the Cambodian women. God sees all of His children as painted white.

 

What does it mean to be painted white?

 

When God created humanity, He created us in His image. He made art when He made us. When Satan came and started roaming the earth, he tried and still tries to deceive us in what God thinks about us. Satan loves when we believe lies about ourselves.

Because you had sex before marriage…

Because you stole…

Because you have lied…

Because you have committed adultery…

Because you have a lot of pride…

Because you compare yourself…

Because you cant provide for yourself…

Because your parents, friends, relationships abandoned you…

God could never love you unconditionally. You aren’t worth being saved. There is no way you are made in the image of God. God is going to forget you like everyone else. The truth of the matter is that God sent His perfect Son, so we could be painted white.

 Romans 8

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

When we accept Christ into our hearts, we are made new. We cannot live in our identities as God’s children or our calling without God painting over our once dark canvasses with white paint. The white paint can then turn into any color the Lord sees fit. For my girls in the industry, I pray they will one day be painted white, so they can become who they were created to be…

Orange. Red. Purple.                                                                                        Joy. Passion. Royalty.

For you, what color is God trying to paint you? He is not finished with you yet even if it feels like it.

Live Fearlessly, 

Kristie Allison

 

***I am still in need of monthly financial supporters! I can’t go to Cambodia without your help! Please let me know if you would like to join my team and the journey the Father has me on!