Rich Dixon is learning all the time.

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I promised a field trip – our leaders arranged a guided tour of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Museum.

Cincinnati was a major stop on the “Underground Railroad” that helped escaped slaves on their dangerous journey north to freedom. Our guide was a soft-spoken Black gentleman whose grandparents began their lives as slaves.

Sadly, slavery has always been a part of human history. Our tour traced that horrible story from ancient times through the transatlantic slave trade. I guess I’d been sensitized by our preparation, because I recall wondering about how casually we passed exhibits without stopping to note that each one represented the fact that people took for granted that it was okay to own other people.

We reached the end of the American Civil War, which is where my middle-class education and always told me slavery ended – Lincoln freed the slaves. No amount of advanced discussion could have prepared me for the rest of the tour.

Modern. Day. Slavery.

Forced labor. Indentured servitude. Child sex slavery. Forced prostitution. Human trafficking. I was overwhelmed by the visuals I encountered. My memory of the details is cloudy, but the impact was clear.

I had seen something I could not un-see. I knew something I could not un-know. And simply turning away wasn’t an option.

You see it, right? Becky and I were seeking a sense of direction following the Mississippi River ride. Unexpectedly, we get invited on this crazy group bike ride that includes a tour of a museum about modern day slavery. Which leads us to a passion in which we’ve immersed ourselves for the last 13 years.

How easy would it have been to say NO to that invitation because I was too busy waiting for God to tell me what to do?

How often do you and I avoid a nudge from Jesus because we’re waiting for his guidance?