It’s the small things in life like buying a
black leotard, pink ballet slippers and watching Weaam walk into her first dance
class. As I sit in the waiting room, with the other mother’s I smile to myself.
Weaam is mine but by a different right. Investments in individuals is what
causes a dance to begin.
Holding my student’s dark hand as she grips
her pencil, I glide it across the paper forming her name. Though she is an
adult, she can probably count how many times she has held a pencil. Now, here
she sits in my home city learning to read and write for the first time and it
is my language.
While it’s not the city of 7 million I
lived in for a year and a half overseas, I was excited to be taking a new job
on Church Street in the heart of downtown! With its tall buildings, waterways, and
bridges there is a sense of familiarity and opportunity. One thing I may never
grow accustomed to, nor do I wish to, is the group of 8+ homeless individuals outside
the Shell gas station at 8:15 each morning.
Thursday night I role in tired and drained
to meet with a few other young people and pour over the word, and I remember the
Father is at work in each of us individually.
Friday night without fail they gather and
pray an eclectic group who bless my soul with their united passion and purpose.
I would consider them acquaintances,
friends of friends, but when my friend asked me why I hadn’t visited his friend
in the hospital I pledged to go. While sitting in the hospital room, with a man
and a wife I barely knew I nodded because I had been reminded it’s all about
relationships and showing love.
It’s those Sunday mornings when you sing a
song that stirs you to worship in a way that would almost make a “PCA”er raise
her hands.
Memories are made on river trips where you take
2 cars loads of people who mostly don’t swim, life jacket them up, push their
rafts off, and jump in behind them spending the next hour swimming, dragging, and
convincing any of the daring children to give the ice cold spring water a try
with you.
I went over to quiz Nagwa on her 100
citizenship questions and was so proud when she began spitting out the answers
like a recording. She may not know what many of them mean, but she’s got those
answers down!
We are a whole gang of green shirts with a
red truck set up for the kids club, but few kids sprinkle the blue tarp. We
almost out number them. But when I see how Rewan waits for us each week and
soaks up the words we share, I remember each one is precious.
On the 13th birthday of my Arab
student, I realized that I as the non-dancer of my family was teaching an Arab how
to dance! I laugh as now I try to learn what I once considered irrelevant recreational
activity because living life with others means many things.
When things are going well and I begin to gloat,
I quickly rediscover humility in weakness. I can’t bring change or open doors but
for today I will rejoice in those graciously gifted to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment