For months my husband urged me to visit a lady whom I will
call Nuri. He met her at one of the
places he volunteers at. He asked Nuri if I could come and visit her. Then she
gave Ed her phone number so I could arrange a visit. He did not know for
certain which country she came from, her religion or who her husband was. After a few months I called Nuri and set up a
time for our visit. Taking a homemade
cake I drove off to her place not knowing what kind of person I was supposed to
be meeting.
When I walked into her place it was full of kids, husband, and other visitors. I wondered who was who and tried to piece everything together. I tried to figure out which country Nuri was from and got a few answers. When I asked her which language she spoke she referred to a few languages. Until now I had not met a person from that part of the world and had never heard any of those languages spoken which she mentioned. I could not figure out why those visitors were present since they were not of Nuri’s nationality. They were relating more on professional terms than friendly. Eventually it became clearer there were “problems” in the home. An understanding of what is lawfully right or wrong was missing. The “problems” did not entirely make sense either. The visitors left and finally Nuri and I could have a better conversation. I showed her our family picture which then she showed to her husband. He blurted out, “Your husband is my friend!” What? Ed certainly did not know which home I was in or he would have been shocked. He was a hunk of a guy and an apprehensiveness arose in me.
That night I had a dream of seeing big scary spiders on the
wall. But an amazing thing happened.
Every time I went close to them they shrivelled up and dropped to the floor.
They looked so scary but in reality there was nothing to be afraid of. When I
awoke I realized the dream was reflecting my fears and reservations. I sensed
the Lord telling me, Joy, you don’t need to be afraid of Nuri and her
family either. They need the love of Jesus. You also do not need to know
everything about them. You do not have to understand their language, their
culture, or even their wrong doing. I have not called you to be my investigator
but my witness. Just love them.When I walked into her place it was full of kids, husband, and other visitors. I wondered who was who and tried to piece everything together. I tried to figure out which country Nuri was from and got a few answers. When I asked her which language she spoke she referred to a few languages. Until now I had not met a person from that part of the world and had never heard any of those languages spoken which she mentioned. I could not figure out why those visitors were present since they were not of Nuri’s nationality. They were relating more on professional terms than friendly. Eventually it became clearer there were “problems” in the home. An understanding of what is lawfully right or wrong was missing. The “problems” did not entirely make sense either. The visitors left and finally Nuri and I could have a better conversation. I showed her our family picture which then she showed to her husband. He blurted out, “Your husband is my friend!” What? Ed certainly did not know which home I was in or he would have been shocked. He was a hunk of a guy and an apprehensiveness arose in me.
Sometimes I feel I need to get a grasp on everything. It makes me feel more in control. It is important for me to have knowledge about a person’s country, language, culture, particular religious beliefs or practices but especially about their behavior. Are they trustworthy? Am I hearing the truth? Is something shady going on? What is going on? Once again God reminded me He has sent me to be a witness of the Good News of Jesus Christ, not an investigator.
Dear heavenly Father, please free me from the
compulsion to be an investigator. In Jesus' name. Amen.
