The Cultural Bridge: Sincerity

Well, a little over a week ago marked the one month anniversary of my absence from home. This momentous occasion was duly noted by family who tell me they are counting the days till my return. One would think I'd gone away to war or something. And in actual fact, spiritually, life in the last month has been a battle.

Although I don't look for demons behind every bush, I am beginning to feel the real difference between living here, and living in Europe or America: this land is God's land and the Jews are His people. The struggles here are different, and the level of maturity in my walk with God has really been challenged. Plus, my family in England have been going through a rough time, so it's difficult knowing that I can't be there to walk it out alongside them.

On a lighter note, I am enjoying my time here immensely. Work is going well - I am in the process of completing another project and helping prepare for a company fundraiser next weekend. Aside from that, I want to share with you the meeting that prompted the title of this particular posting.

Last weekend, I visited some family friends in Migdal, where they run a greatly enlarged version of a Bed & Breakfast with a rotating team of volunteers from all over the world. There's an involved history behind this next part of the story, but in short, we were all invited to a Druze family's home for lunch after fellowship, or church (more info on Druze peoples: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druze. It was one of the most touching and awe-inspiring afternoons I've ever experienced. The matriarch of the family, along with a daughter and daughter-in-law, had prepared a feast of Druze specialties, and the food was delicious. Throughout the meal, we discussed faith and family, our respective cultures and world views, all of which were interspersed with laughter in our attempts to make ourselves understood. Some of the family present spoke only Arabic and Hebrew, others spoke both those languages as well as good English. All the volunteers can all speak English, but for some it's their second or third language, so needless to say there was much repetition in a cacophony of languages. It was incredible, and grace and good humour were extended to all.

Following the meal, we had coffee and fresh fruit while we watched the wedding videos of two of the sons - one recently married, and the other preparing to celebrate his twentieth wedding anniversary (the children number thirteen - eight boys and five girls). They were so eager to share their culture with us, and equally curious about our own cultures. I cannot pinpoint why that afternoon made such an impression on me, but the one thing that really stood out to me was their sincerity. They genuinely enjoyed serving us and spending time with us, and willingly invested themselves in our lives, regardless of how short the time was.

There are moments in our lives where it seems Heaven's floodgates just open over our lives, and pour out God's abundance. It was only a few hours, but I believe God blessed that family as much as He used them to bless our group that afternoon. Don't pine away life for such times, but when they do come along, savour, cherish, and remember them. His grace and blessing is always there, in the midst of any circumstance. Have faith.

In Yeshua,

Rebekah