“Is your grandma a brownie?” the elderly Syrian woman asked me as she was chopping up vegetables for lunch that day.
Back in Jordan we partnered with a church that would give food, beds, gas tanks, and blankets to the Syrian refugees that flooded into this small town. Each day we would be in groups of 3-5 with a translator and we would go to different refugees homes and give them food packages. Each time the families would invite us in, serve us tea or coffee, tell us their stories, and most of the time we got to tell ours. These families would offer everything to us when most of them didn’t even have heating, they used curtains for doors, had 8+ people crammed into one room and yet they hosted us with such an honor and joy.
One day I woke up and I felt off and didn’t exactly feel like going out that day, which was unusual for me because I LOVED what we were doing. We were sitting in our meeting that morning and it hit me, that day was the 3rd anniversary of my Mamaw’s death. Oh how I miss that woman. Thankfully we serve such a good God who is also a Father and he loves his children so much and knows just what we need.
So the translator, Bre, and I walk to this elderly couples house and when we get there I was just struck by her beautiful brown eyes and hospitality. We sat down and she immediately served us cinnamon tea and cookies. This woman is a powerhouse. She made us feel so welcomed and she just carries a spirit of peace with her, and she has not had the easiest life. With the war, all of her kids are living all over the world. She went from doing everyday life with her children and then slowly the war tore them apart. She went from cooking meals for big groups of people to just her and her husband.
With all the hurt she still has the biggest smile on her face. She reminded me of my grandmother so much. The way she carried herself with such a strong presence, independence, and respect. The way she made us feel loved and at home. The way she served us and took care of us, she reminded me of my Mamaw.
Fast forward a couple of hours and it gets better. She then starts to cut up veggies for dinner and invites Bre and me to help her cook and to learn from her, which is what my grandmother would do. Of course I had to have my embarrassment moment of that day and I was using the knife blade backwards while peeling the potatoes and she just thought it was the funniest thing and of course she roasted me about it! She was like, “Don’t worry, I will teach you to cook and cut so that you can do it for you your future family.”
While we were cutting, I told her she reminded me of my grandmother and that she was a gift from the Lord to me because today was the 3rd year anniversary of her death, and that she had brought me so much joy and made me feel so loved. Her only response was, “Is your grandmother a brownie?” I could not have asked for a better response.
No, this woman did not look like my grandmother, in the sense of her skin tone, or ethnic background. But in the way that she loved, in the way that she joked and involved us in the kitchen tasks – as if we were her own grandchildren.
This Syrian woman reminded me of the faithfulness of the Lord. She reminded me that he knows our needs and he provides for them. He listens to our heart cries. He knows us fully and loves us fully. This woman reminded me that the Lord can use anyone and everyone to bring glory to his name.
Oh how I miss my grandmother, but I am thankful for the legacy she left and that she is with the Father in heaven right now. Please pray for this woman and the other refugees in Jordan that they will come to know the Lord and come to know that they have so much worth. I encourage you to give your worries and needs to the Lord and trust that he will come through in the best of ways and the ways that only he knows how to provide. You are so loved and have so much worth.
