A couple of our friends came over for dinner last night. The fact that Wendy & I made my favorite dish (chicken macaroni casserole) didn't help with those struggles that I talked about yesterday. That pasta looked so good! Anyway, I'm finding that this Compassion diet is more of a nuisance than I would have imagined. Our friends were over and ready to eat and I realized that I hadn't made anything for myself! Praise Jesus for minute rice! I had corn tortillas and white rice in an instant!
Before I go into the story, I need to tell you a little bit about our friends. They are a relatively recently-married couple (2 years?) who have just moved to Lubbock. She is a Lubbock native who has traveled to such exotic places as China and Israel as a missionary. She is a tall blonde, so you can imagine that she kinda stuck out like a sore thumb in those places. (Is there a better analogy for "sticking out" than the whole "sore thumb" thing? I really have no idea what that means, but I use it all the time. If anyone can help me find a better simile, you'll get a free copy of the book I write. If I ever write one.) Her husband is a Syrian refugee whom she met on the island of Cyprus. He fled Syria as a younger man because of the political situation there. He spent some time in political prison before fleeing the country. He became a Christ follower while staying with a Christian family in Cyprus.
They are quickly becoming some of our family's favorite people -- especially for Tinsley and Scrappy. (Our four-year-old and our dog, for those of you who are reading this blog but have never met us.) And since the adjustment to Lubbock is a difficult one for them, we really want them to know that they have friends here. So we try to hang out with them as much as possible.
Last night's dinner conversation began by talking about one of his friends whose family was taken captive by the government of Syria. He found out about it a few days ago and then found out yesterday that, while the rest of the family was released, they kept the friend in custody. This friend (let's call him Rahm) has been in prison before and was told that, if he were captured again, it would probably not end well. That's why I'm a little paranoid about using his real name. Not that international agents read my blog, but no sense in taking the chance. Anyway, we prayed for Rahm and his family, and I would love it if you would stop here and say a prayer for them as well. And then go and research the political situation in Syria so your international prayers will be better informed. Go ahead and do that now. This blog will still be here when you get done.
There's a lot more that I want to say about our conversation yesterday -- frustrations with the church, with how people treat one another, etc. -- that are fascinating. It is always enlightening when someone from another culture/country moves in the neighborhood and you begin to see your culture through their eyes. It's not always good. But I want to reflect for a moment on how my eyes are constantly being opened by what God is doing here among & inside me. Through this A Place at the Table fast, I have become sensitive to the plight of hungry people across the globe. Through Living Water International, I have become attuned to the reality that clean water should be a right of every world citizen and that it IS the church's calling to make this a reality. (Maybe the verse should say, "If anyone gives even a cup of clean water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward." [Matt.10:42]) And through this friendship, I am putting a face to the reality that people are being imprisoned, tortured, and killed because they do not agree with the man in power. And if I claim to be a God-follower who truly believes that Jesus is making ALL THINGS new, then these are not just political issues. They are spiritual issues. And my willingness to have my eyes opened to the plight of the oppressed DEMANDS that I do something about it. And that you do something about it, too.
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