“It’s one thing to have your neighborhood destroyed by bombing and read about it the next morning in the New York Times. It’s another thing to have your neighborhood bombed, and no one knows and no one cares anymore.” (paraphrasing a quote from the book From Beirut to Jerusalem)
It’s 5:30 am, and I’m lying on my back in my comfortable Brady Street bed the morning of my departure, pressing the button on my touch screen phone every time another alarm goes off.
Where will I be tomorrow morning this time, I wonder. A few minutes later I sleepily check the airline app. The Royal Jordanian flight I will be on tonight is currently above France, with three or four more hours to go before it reaches Amman.
That’s where I’ll be.
My last day at work was a classic, but God is so faithful. Despite a few tears, a 15 hours of work, and several emergencies, he sustained me and reminded me, not only of His great love, but oddly, that I wasn’t going to mess this up. Back off, I could almost hear God saying. Stop obsessing. I’ve got this. He blessed me through my co-workers: well wishes, hugs, a prayer, a gift bag of travel treats from my friend and veteran traveler Christine, and the succinct imperatives of the men I work with (all accustomed to giving orders): Don’t do anything stupid (Chris)…Be careful…Don’t go to Syria (Dr. Halloran)…Be safe…Come back (Dr. Dickson). My fellow nurse Sue cheerfully reassured me that she would not mind working for three weeks straight.
It’s odd, though, how visible acts of service like foreign travel get more attention than the service of the day to day grind. When you jet off to a foreign country, you get hugs and cards and prayers, for which I am eternally grateful.
But for those of you getting up this Wednesday morning and faithfully going to your job, your task is less visible than mine, but not less important. Seasons of life when you receive no support, no applause, are not only harder, but I think more important. Only in the day to day routine can we truly learn and demonstrate what it means to be faithful!
Like the bombings in Beirut that were no longer “news”, the tasks that “no one knows” are the hardest of all to live well.
So blessings to you on this Wednesday, wherever you are, wherever you go, regardless of “who knows”.
For the moment, my task is the “visible kind”. Thank you for covering it with your thoughts and prayers.
If you wish to hear my interview with the French Press Podcast about my upcoming trip, click here. (I had some trouble accessing this page but Reuben was working on fixing it so hopefully you’ll get there.)