i was going to post about something completely different, but i'm extremely distracted by the latest news from texas today.

Fearful 16-year-old bride made late-night call
Frightened and perhaps pregnant for the second time in a year, the 16-year-old mother whispered into a borrowed cell phone, defying everything she'd been taught by making contact with the outside world. She said she wanted out of a polygamous compound in West Texas

now i know there are many times where i come across as a complete feminist and maybe if i were born in the 70s i would have been at the front of some of the women's rights marches. no doubt i probably would have had the obnoxious megaphone and all.

but here's the deal ... in most countries ... dare i say every country ... women and children are still the most oppressed individuals on the face of the planet. isabel allende said in her talk at TED that even the poorest of men have someone to control ... the women and children.

it's not just in war-torn or developing countries. it's not just in the middle east or in our latest philanthropic obsession, africa where women are silenced and children raised to believe that this is what God intended for humanity.

it's here ...

all around us. in l.a., new york, chicago and ... texas.

the glimmer of hope ... that, in her absolute desperation, God whispered to a 16 year old girl a dream that she thought was worth risking her life for. and now she's free, along with 555 other women and children.

(warning: run on sentence and a few fragments due to intense anger)
when you're 16 and on your second child to a man that is three times your age and has dozens of other wives, beats you until your ribs break and you have been raised to know no contact with the outside world, OH, and your parents are about to send your 15 year old sister to the same ranch ... to have the same life ... is it possible that you too know that you were made for more? that you were created to to hear the whispers of a God that has plans for you to prosper and live a life that inspires other people? that you are worth more than the leftovers. at what point does she ... do we ... start to wonder if there is a life outside of what we've always known? at what point did she ... will we ... decide to pick up the phone and break a cycle that has kept generations from experiencing the fullness of God?

it happened this week in towns all across the world. this is just one story that will be told of how it only took one person bold enough. desperate enough. to change the course of humanity.