Rachel and her daughter, Lori have both experienced the sex industry.
For Rachel, this wasn’t simply something she could walk away from and suddenly have an easy, stable life.
This was a cycle that had touched her family for generations. And one she taught to her dauther.
About a year ago, Scarlet Hope began walking alongside Rachel and Lori.
And Jesus began changing everything about their lives.
But not long ago, Rachel and Lori found themselves living under a bridge.
They had almost nothing.
And while they were there, men approached Rachel and offered her money for the very thing she had walked away from.
She desperately needed the money.
But she said no.
“I won’t go back. That’s not who I am anymore.”
That is what freedom looks like.
Freedom doesn’t always mean the struggle immediately disappears. Sometimes freedom looks like standing under a bridge with no idea how you’re going to make it and still believing that going backward is no longer an option.
And God provided another way.
Recently, our team visited Rachel and Lori and found them in a completely different place.
They’re working together at a hotel restaurant. They have a place to stay nearby through their employer. They can keep their dogs with them. They’re working, laughing, hopeful and genuinely excited about where God has brought them.
Rachel told our team she keeps thinking about the old Jeffersons song:
“We’re moving on up!”
And we laughed with her because, in so many ways, she is.
Life isn’t suddenly perfect. They still don’t have a car. Money is still tight. There are still hard days ahead.
But there is something Rachel has now that circumstances can’t take away.
She knows who she is.
She belongs to Jesus.
And she’s not going back.
