My Muslim friend wept , unrestrained , yet embarrassed that she had let herself express such strong emotion to her Christian friend . I touched her on the arm . “ It doesn ’ t feel good when a person condemns our faith , does it ? God is the one who judges the heart ,” I reassured . “ He knows our relationship with him .”
My friend didn ’ t need me to join with the rest of the onslaughts against her Muslim faith . She needed a nonjudgmental listener . With the news reports concentrating on Muslim extremists , locations of mosques , and Israeli and Arab land rights , my friend felt attacked . I needed to show her how kind and loving our God is , someone who is deeply interested in our welfare .
For nearly a decade , I have been a friend to the “ head-scarf lady .” We ’ ve discussed the beliefs of our different faiths over countless cups of tea . I have communicated the Gospel from every angle , consistently bringing Jesus as the only Savior into our conversations .
It all started in my kids ’ school carpool line . I noticed a woman with a headscarf . “ She ’ d be an interesting lady to get to know ,” I thought . So , each day as I sat in line , I prayed for her . Just general prayers , like : “ Jesus , would you draw her to you ?”
The time came for our son ’ s fifth birthday . “ Nico ,” I said one day , “ You can choose a couple of friends and invite them home for cake and ice cream . The mummies can come too , and we can chat and drink coffee .”
Nico invited two little boys . One was an American boy and the other was Middle Eastern . Nico said , “ You know his mother . The lady with the scarf !” I was overjoyed . God had heard my prayer . I was to be a part of the answer .
For nine years we have met for tea and conversation . We have visited second-hand clothing stores and international food markets , eaten Libyan and Indian food with our families , and enjoyed a Middle Eastern festival . My friend Raima * has also attended some of my Bible studies and special women ’ s outreach dinners at church . All along , my heart has yearned for her to come to Christ .
One day , we were driving to a store across town . Raima had brought her husband ’ s GPS . She excitedly told me about the “ recalculate ” feature that rerouted us if we got lost . “ It ’ s wonderful ,” she said to me . “ If we make a wrong turn , it just recalculates and sets us on the right course again .”
God ’ s Spirit spoke to me . “ Hey , that ’ s just like God . If we make a poor choice and are heading in the wrong direction , we ask his forgiveness , and he lovingly reroutes our lives back in the right direction .”
On another occasion , my kids and I were driving home from a play date at my friend ’ s house . My then eight-year-old Maddy had sat beside me for most of the visit , listening to the interaction between my friend and me . She piped up from the back seat and said , “ Mummy , Raima thinks that her god and our God are the same , doesn ’ t she ?”
“ Yes , darling ,” I said , and before I could clarify , my little girl added , “ but that is not for us to tell her , is it ? It ’ s for God to tell her .”
How I pray that God will draw Raima ’ s heart to his . That is his job . I ’ ve prayed with my friend on numerous occasions . Several times , I have seen tears at the close of the prayer . Pray for my friend as she hears about the love of God as we drink tea in our homes . Pray that she will read the bilingual Bible I gave her , that she will respond to God ’ s love , and that she will come to believe that Jesus really is the only Savior .
* Name changed for security reasons .
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