He was watching out for me.

I have a friend who is a missionary to women who have been enslaved to the job of prostitution.
Sometimes she'll update me on some of the women she has been working with.
The past few weeks we have been talking a lot about one.
This woman was forced into this job.
I don't know the details, but I do know that this is not something she wanted to be doing.

As I thought about her, and prayed for her, God reminded me of a certain time in my life.
I was sixteen, and traveling in Europe for the first time.
I was with a friend of mine, and we were walking around Amsterdam.
As you probably know, Amsterdam's Red Light district is famous.
We ended up in that district by accident. We were lost.

At first I didn't understand what was going on.
Then I realized what was happening,
And who these people were.
I just felt so sad. And scared.

This was something I never experienced before.
I just kept my head down low,
And got out of there as fast as I could.

Now, as I look back I realize how much God was protecting me.
I don't know all that much about those districts, but I know they aren't very safe.
I could have had something very bad happen to me.
Why shouldn't I have been put in the same situation as the women who were there?
I know that may seem a bit extreme.
But God really impressed upon me that without Him, I could have been there too.
He was protecting me.
He was watching over me.
He brought me out of that situation.

It's only now that I can understand why my mom was so upset when she found out.
I knew that the whole circumstance was not desirable, but I didn't truly understand.

I am so grateful that He was watching out for me..