Names and locations have been changed or omitted for security.
If I have learned anything during my time in the Mediterranean, it’s that life will constantly change—that circumstances and local culture can end up clashing with my plans or expectations. Some weeks feel like they require daily shifts in my understanding of things I thought I’d already learned. Living in a place that I can’t completely grasp means that I must constantly re-evaluate, which is humbling to say the least.
This sort of evaluation can be really tiring. I don’t have the luxury of just mindlessly operating here like I can at home, where language and culture are second nature. The words of Annie Sherwood Hawks’ hymn “I Need Thee Every Hour” have become increasingly real for me in the Mediterranean; every hour, I truly do need Him to provide me with the patience, grace, and energy to get through the day. Thankfully, our Father is gracious and wants to provide.
Our team experienced this provision as we were returning from our vacation this year. Our route home included taking a train from the southern part of our country up to a town that neighbors the one our team lives in. Though I’d lived in this same location during my previous year of REACH, I’d never made it to this neighboring town; however, after being here in the Mediterranean for so long, I figured I that I would have no problem getting us home. I’d used taxis so much that I felt like a total professional. How different could the town next door really be? I’m sure you can guess that it was not as easy as I’d assumed.
Thankfully, our Father is gracious and wants to provide.
I knew that the train would make two different stops in the town, and I planned for our team to deboard when we reached the second stop. From there, we’d hail a taxi, ride to the town’s taxi station, make a transfer, and climb into a final taxi for the trip back home. Unfortunately, my plans immediately began to fall apart.
First, you should know that the trains here in the Mediterranean will sometimes overbook. So, when three women boarded our train at the first station, their tickets were for the seats my team and I were occupying. The women realized what had happened and were gracious, but warned me that we really should have gotten off at the first stop—many more taxis were waiting there for passengers than would be at the second station.
When we arrived, I realized that these women were right. It took us a while to flag down a taxi, but eventually, we were able to squeeze into a car, and I directed the driver to take us to the taxi station. He proceeded to ask me which taxi station we wanted to go to, and I had to tell him that I had no idea. I’d forgotten that this town is much larger than ours and has multiple stations. Thankfully, he was very patient with me and, despite our language barrier, was able to understand which town we wanted to travel to.
Once he’d dropped us off at the taxi station, my team and I learned that our troubles weren’t over. No regular taxi traveled between this town and ours, which meant that we would either be stuck waiting for an entire taxi to fill up with people also going our direction, or we would have to pay for the whole vehicle ourselves. I was honestly impressed by how incorrect my assumptions were about how this final leg of our trip would go!
Fortunately, we have a good, good Father. He provided local people to guide me through that entire experience and gifted me with extra patience and grace for myself as I used the small amount of language that I’ve acquired to fumble my way through explanations. The best part about all of this, though? He provides new beginnings as well. When I woke up at home the next day, I didn’t have to believe that everything in this country is confusing; there are parts of this culture that I truly do understand. It was possible for me to start the day with a clean slate and with the confidence that I could trust God to see me through.
2 Corinthians 4:8 comes to mind often in this place. It says, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair” (ESV). What a blessing it is to have a Father who can make that true! When hard things come our way—things we can’t understand at all—His faithfulness and love will help us stay standing and deliver us safely to our destination.
Photo credit: Mathias Reding on Pexels
