Prejudice

So before arriving in Turkey I had basically no interaction with muslim people. Sure, I would see swarms of them when I took my kids to the Mall of America. And back in my freshman year of high school there was a decent size population of muslim students. I just never interacted with any of them since I was't friends with any of them.

To be honest, after the long drawn out fighting of over the last decade and a half, I have allowed myself to be trained to view people with the long dark coat and head covering as an enemy. That is wrong of me. That is sin. They are created in the image of God, just like I was; just like any other human being. While some may be out to hurt me, the majority are not. Most are just going about their days just as I am going about mine.

It's funny the way the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to sin, and the situations used to mold you more into the image of Christ. Yesterday, I was standing at the bus stop, surrounded by people whom I bear no resemblance to; my kids and I sticking out like sore thumbs. While we were waiting for the bus to arrive, another lady who was waiting started to ask me questions in Turkish. She was in a long black jacket and had her head and neck covered with a hijab. Upon realizing that I spoke basically no Turkish (though I counted to 3 for her in Turkish, lol) she tried to convey what she was trying to say to me. She thought my kids were adorable. She even mustered up some English to ask the kids their names. Back in the States I would have smiled politely and moved on, like going on my phone or something. I mean, I don't usually strike up conversations with random strangers in the first place, but I know that a month ago I would have tried to distance myself from her; whether intentionally or not, I 'm not sure, but I know I would have because that is what I've always done....not run away from them, but just stay back and observe with a critical eye. Ouch. There is my sin. Christ says to love. Yet I hadn't been doing much of that, deep down in the recesses of my heart.

An attempt at conversing and then the bus arrived. We were going on the same bus. Little Man wanted to ride it like a surfboard- hands free- so he was flailing all over the place. The same lady kindly stopped him from falling over and helped me wrangle him and the 2 girls until we got to our transfer stop. I thanked her several times in Turkish. She truly had been a blessing to me yesterday. Seeing a smiling face, full of warmth; a friendly face wanting to strike up some conversation- that was a blessing to me. In those few minutes I felt welcome. I didn't feel like an isolated mom in a strange land. And the biggest blessing was the Holy Spirit convicting me of sin, righteousness and judgement. Thank's be to YHWH!