A Beautiful Whisper

Hi all!

Today was a fairly uneventful day here in Meknes. At the women’s center I babysat a little girl named Miriam while her mother was taking part in the group counseling session. She was really shy at first and I couldn’t talk to her to warm her up, but tickling works in every language so we became friends fast. I also got a lot of practice using the Darija words for no and stay. Two new students who just arrived to Meknes also came to the association today, so I got a chance to meet both of them and help them get situated. After work, I took them out for coffee and tried to give them a better idea of what to expect at our placement. Maybe it wasn’t too necessary, but I would have wanted someone to tell me anything and everything on my first day, so I gave it a shot. They both seem really passionate about gender equality, so I at least know the next two weeks have some great conversation potential.

Really the only other things I did today were eat and watch Frozen with my roommates, so I guess we’ll chalk this one up to lazy Monday syndrome. I’m going to take advantage of the leftover space on this post though to share something I didn’t have room for over the weekend.

On the way to Rabat on Saturday morning I was sitting by myself on the bus. I couldn’t fall asleep so I decided to listen to music, which I haven’t done much since I got here. I’ve really been missing church and worship band time since being here, so I put on my favorite camp playlist and curled up next to the window. The song “Life’s Noise” by Bluetree came on, and I am a stinking huge Bluetree fan, so I started jamming out pretty hard for eight o’clock in the morning. Then suddenly, as though I had never heard them before, the lyrics became clear and fascinating.

“He wasn’t in the fire. He wasn’t in the quake. He wasn’t in the wind. He’s in a whisper.”

I don’t think the message I got out of this song in that moment is at all related to the actual intention behind the lyrics, but it was everything I have needed to hear for the past two weeks. I occurred to me that I don’t need to do the biggest thing or the loudest thing or even the best thing.

He’s in a whisper.

God is in my whisper. In my calm voice. In my comforting hands. My knowing eyes. My giving heart. He doesn’t want my dramatic sacrifice or my elaborate plan. He doesn’t need them. The world doesn’t need me or what I can do. The world needs beauty, justice, peace, love and light – gorgeous, radiant light brought softly into sight through the gentle whisper of kindness, the murmur of compassion, generosity, and love.

My life is a whisper, and it’s beautiful.

So while I have been trying so hard to figure out my purpose here and worrying that I won't be able to make a big, unmistakable difference before I leave, God was in all the little works I think are so insignificant. I don’t have to show God’s love in an extravagant or loud or even visible way. And I think maybe those things tend to draw more attention to the person than the passion. So, no matter how small I think my impact is, I have to remember that there is light in everything I do with a generous heart.

That’s all I really have to say for tonight. Sorry it’s a little off track from my normal posts. It just felt like something I needed to share.

Until tomorrow.