Good day!
Since we have arrived we have been given so much it actually frustrated me. I caught myself praying for a road to build. God really sent us to such a serving community to show us what it means. It is sacrificial.
We had to find secret ways to avoid getting served more tea by none other than those who were stripped from all they had. Their family sits in the other room waiting to eat the food we are cannot manage to finish. The Middle Eastern culture is now of my favorite. It seems like a life time ago when I was drowning in self pity, convincing myself that I have had a rough life.
What's rough is feeling purposeless and having the will power to do something about it , yet forced not to.
I feel like more people should be here, but on the other hand I also had compassion for these people without acting on it. I never thought I would be able to make a difference here.
It is unbelievable to think that people actually survive these trails and still have love to offer. Please don't wait for something to shake you enough to come. Just come, because your life will change. It means the world to them to know they are not forgotten and you gain so much in the process. But of course! That is what God is all about! You give a little, and think it will be rough and then He gives you much more than you ever imagined! I love how He enjoys contrasts! Give and you shall receive. The first will come last and the last, first. God's wisdom seems folly to worldly wisdom and visa versa. Anyway!
I feel like the world needs to wake up and see that we are made for so much more than our self centered trails. I say this with so much conviction within myself. I feel like we are so imprisoned by our self centeredness that we do not know how to care. I was so stuck in my own mind for 20 years. Judged everything I did to the point of depression! Could hardly move without second guessing myself. So stuck in my rejecting mind!
And I use the word imprisoned, because in our generation we so desperately need to 'find ourselves'. There are so many categories, boxes if you will, that we can put ourselves in and not being in one, is also one. When will we just be? It is so useless and frankly depressing! So you find yourself and then? You die. "Well yea at least she knew herself. "
But experiencing this crisis in the Middle East switches the focus outward. You get over yourself and finally you can be free!!! And then only you can love... The kind of love that crosses language barriers. Jesus love. Just listening to their stories takes them a step closer to healing.
So yes I invite you to take a step away from self-imprisonment and to actually do something.