Days later, I met Sareda and her good friend, Foziah, who was from Dubai, for dinner at a local restaurant. Again, I had a wonderful time. We sat and shared our lives as though we had been friends for decades. We all went back to Sareda’s home after dinner, and I asked her to put on some traditional music from Somalia. She did and we all danced while Sareda translated the lyrics. We had more tea and expressed our views on religion, God, devotion, and traditions. We cried over the recent loss of Sareda’s son, who sounded like he was just as precious of a soul as his mother… A man of kindness and generosity. Foziah expressed how much of a gift he was—he never let the sun go down without connecting with his mother, she uttered.
We did find reasons to laugh as we discussed the adventures of love and motherhood while sharing photos of our lives. I spoke about my recent move to Texas, my two failed marriages, and my struggles in raising three children as an African-American woman and single parent. They, too, shared moments of hurt and betrayals in their lives. Before we knew it, we had been together more than 7 hours!
Although I have never traveled to Somalia or Dubai, I felt as though I had—by listening to their stories, our hearts interlocked. In our respect for one another, our search for mutual understanding, and our connection to God, we found common ground.
This experience reminded me that when we open our hearts and listen, we can hear the thundering beauty of His voice. You see, no matter who you are or where you live, God is more than capable of finding a way to speak to you.
Our whole life is God’s alone—we are His working tools—and His messages can come through various ways, times, places, and people. He will use each of us, if we are willing, and when we allow ourselves to be used by Him, other people will see that He is not distant, emotionless, nor a vague “ball of light”; they will see that He is here with us. We will be able to recognize, and believe with certainty, that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38 NLT).
In our respect for one
another, our search
for mutual
understanding,
and our connection
to God, we found
common ground.
For me, He sent Somalia’s feminist writer, Sareda Hagi-Herzi, to a local car wash, along with her lifelong friend, Foziah, from Dubai. What a Godsend moment it was! When I shared this encounter with my children, they, too, were in complete awe. My said, “Mom, all you ever talk about is the unfolding of God’s love… You really live as a participant.” My response was that this is how ordinary days turn into extraordinary moments.
Thank you Sareda and Foziah—for your love, acceptance, and sharing. This made for a beautiful story.