Dust

Blog Series: Middle East

A look back at the journey God took me on and urged me to write about while I was there.

Feb 20

Looking out the bus window at miles and miles of desert. As far as the eye can see-- dust.

We are all made of dust. We all return to dust. People all over the world are so similar; so much more alike than what we would like to think.

The first taxi we rode in in Ammon was driven by an older man. A devout man. A sick man. We asked if we could pray for him in Isa's (Jesus') name. He started telling us about Islam and how when you pray you have to wash and be clean on the outside. We thought differently, but we listened intently.

We heard his heart. He said we all have one God. Again and again-- One God. We agreed. He said it again. Na'am (yes), Allah, One God. We smiled and nodded in full-hearted agreement.

I saw a side to a Muslim that I had never seen before. I saw God in this man; a devotion and commitment that so many people lack. A layer was peeled back from my eyes of scales and the sun shined a little bit brighter. We said goodbye to the man ("Masalama")-- peace be with him.

I look through the bus window out over the sun-scorched desert. Miles and miles of dust, rocks, and hills. The sun's rays blind my eyes. Miles of reminders that we all come from dust and we all will return. A reminder that we can all be blinded to the reality that we are all here trying to make sense of it all; that maybe we don't have it all together... and that we are all so alike in so many different ways yet so different at the same time.

We are blinded by our skewed perceptions, stereotypes, and fears. Blind to the common ground between us; a mirage between 'us' and 'them'.

Let us open our eyes. See the dust.

Nothing Left

Do you ever wonder if you have life figured out right?

Do you know if you think of life, it’s circumstances, and the people in it, in the way that you should?  I am looking through some blogs tonight and seeing others spending their life wandering around this beautiful world and writing about how amazing it is.  They write about how inspiring it is to see how other people live.  And my heart longs to do the same.  My hearts pulls towards leaving America, the land of the privileged and self-centered; the land that I call home; the beautiful land where I have come to love... and the land that has shaped who I am and how I think of this world.  Yet-- I am left wondering if I have it all wrong.  And I know at times that I do.

I want a life full of true joy and fulfillment.  Not in things, but in people and in relationships.

I want to be used.

I want to be used up completely before I leave this beautiful world.  I want to stand (or kneel) in front of my God and know that He is proud of me-- that He is proud that I took life’s opportunities and ran with them, spreading His love and truth to each and every corner of this earth.

I want to have nothing left.

I want to see the joy on children’s faces when they see that this little, blonde, American girl who can’t speak their language came so far to see them specifically.  I want to hold their hands and walk with them, all the while wondering why they trust me so easily and quickly.  I just want to sit next to them, and as they slowly scoot closer and closer to me, smile to myself as I feel, once in my life, right where I need to be.

I want to hug the women who have such joy and peace in their life even if they don’t have shoes on their feet.  I want to see their smiles-- their wrinkled, tired, faces that reflect the grace of God.  I don’t want to miss out on this wonderful life.  It’s too short, too beautiful, and too full of amazing people and opportunities to see God work in and through others.

For now, I will keep hoping for these things and that I can also be used right where I am.

**this picture is of a little boy, Elvie, I just fell completely in love with on my first mission trip to Guatemala. I went back to his town on my last trip and was heartbroken to find out that he had moved to Guatemala city... I can only pray that God would keep him safe there and grow up to be a wonderful man of integrity.