Lacing my shoes
Stretching my muscle’s
Grabbing my bible!
Leaving the church where I slept, I made my way up the cobble alleyway onto the main street. I start at a small jog, and then I made my way into a run. My arms pumping and my muscle’s in my legs feeling the pull and strain of not running for a few months. I felt the wind in my face, and the gentle breeze of the early morning, while I weave in and out of people. I forgot how free I felt when running. My purple bible in my hands, I wasn’t worrying about the people staring while I passed by. Being in a country that is over 90% Muslim never once flashed in my mind, for my God is on my side.
So many of the students that I have had the pleasure to talk to, have told me that it is hard to be a Christian in Albania. A few of them have told me their families no longer talk to them because they follow Jesus. One girl even told me her parents took her Bible and threw it in the fire. Not only do they have families that don’t support their decision of turning to Jesus but their friends as well have abandoned them.
All of that pushed aside, I had a meeting with one of the students of the University who has been a Christian since she was 12. She asked me to meet her at 8am and we would go to the park to walk/run while we talked. She had so much to tell me that a few times I had to stop her so I could get a word in. She told me that being a Christian is hard for her, but she loves Jesus and will always love and follow Jesus no matter what. She continues to go on and say that she had a guy that was interested in her and was Orthodox and told her lies about having interest in Christianity but in reality he only wanted one thing, and that was her. It hurt her so much, that as she began tell me this she just broke down and started to cry. I took ahold of her and said, “You are stronger then you give yourself credit for.” You became a Christian because that’s what your heart was telling you, and that’s what God wanted you to do. She sobs and tells me, “I’m not strong I’m weak, for I let this guy into my life and I thought I could change him.” I just look at her and remember at a time that’s how felt at one point. That the men I had dated would change over time, but in reality they never did.
After a 50min talk I was able to tell her that “God will one day show a husband to you. That he will be everything you ever wanted and more. That he would treat you like a queen and love you in so many ways.” I also told her that if she continued to follow her heart and pray to God he will never steer you wrong. Yet I also told her God puts things in front of us to strengthen us, and that guy that hurt her was just a test. She finally gave me a hug and told me she had to go to class. Before she left she said, “God has blessed me with you for you have made my day better”.
So talking with her and hopefully helping her forget the guy, made running with a bible in my hands in a Muslim country. Worth it!
