Hope for Us All
Most of my interactions with Muslim women have occurred in a Middle Eastern setting. Year after year, sitting with these women, I encountered different stories but often similar themes. Feelings of loneliness, abuse, fear—all were common struggles that I came to expect as I befriended them. Many of these dear friends were either refugees, poor, or divorced so it made sense to me that their stories would be similar.
About four months ago, our family came back to the States for furlough. Missing the culture and country that I have come to love so much, I became desperate to meet Middle Eastern women. Within a week of being home I was introduced to a whole community of Middle Eastern women! Immediately, they loved on my family, invited us to their biggest holiday celebration, fed my children all the chocolate they had available, and told me that I was officially part of their family. To this day, I have never met a more welcoming culture than Middle Easterners.
As we entered their homes and their lives, they appeared different than the families we knew overseas. Still welcoming, but more American. They were successful, driven, entrepreneurial, and living in gorgeous houses. However, after the third meeting, I realized that their new American way of living tended to mask some of the same struggles my friends in the Middle East shared with me.
One particular meeting, I sat with my new friend and some other women at a coffee shop. They talked about how hard life was for them here, how lonely they were, and how desperate they were for friendship in this new world they had entered. As the other two women talked, my friend looked at me and opened up about her marriage. She was being abused to the point that she was hospitalized for two days. Having no family in America, she had nowhere to run. Upon her release from the hospital, she could only return to her husband. She was lonely, abused, and afraid. All she wanted was a friend.
Whether in America or overseas, Muslim women desire friendship. We do too, right? Muslim communities are very tied together. Everyone is connected, and women can feel vulnerable to gossip and shame. I find that my Muslim friends often feel more comfortable sharing honestly with me than with women in their own circles. And I love sharing with them, too.
I cherish every opportunity God gives me with my Muslim friends. These relationships enrich my life and privilege me to share the hope He offers us all for life’s challenges. It will be the same for you and the Muslim girls God puts in your path. What blessed opportunities God gives us for these special friendships!