As I Have Loved You

I was on my way to a Bible Study one Tuesday morning but stopped at Home Depot to get some fungus killer for my grass. I was directed by the attendant in the Garden Department to talk with this older man, who was fairly knowledgeable about agriculture in general. This man directed me to a product he felt would be helpful, and in the course of conversation I found out he was a Christian from Syria. I thanked him for his help, paid for the fungus killer and walked to my car.

As I put my hand on the driver-side door—I felt a “nudge.”

How to explain the “nudge?” It’s not really physical. I suppose it is best categorized as spiritual, because it isn’t emotional either. I had no desire to return to the Garden Department and talk further with this man. But then there was this sort of “push” in my spirit—as if God might be saying, maybe it would be good to go back and pray for this guy.

As it turned out, he was a Professor of Agriculture at the University in Syria before he and his family fled the country to escape the persecution of Christians by radical Muslim factions. Driving to the airport they were rear-ended by another car and his daughter suffered an injury to her spine which left her unable to walk.

He told me his daughter needs a special kind of wheelchair and I said there were many places that donated those kind of items to families in need. Of course, he didn’t even know where to look. So, I told him I would see what I could find. And then I prayed for him and his family. I told him some of my friends would also be praying for him and his family. His only other daughter is still in Syria, at the University.

I returned the next Tuesday with a print-out of places that might help him get a wheelchair for his daughter. He was incredibly grateful to see me again. He said that since he had come to America I was the first real Christian who had shown him any kindness. And then he had to walk away from me because he started to cry.

Michael suggested we invite him and his family to dinner, and I did, the very next time I saw him. But he was SO excited because his daughter had been chosen for a special program to help heal her spine through the use of stem cells. Out of 72 candidates only 3 were picked—and she was one of those three. He was thrilled. And he kept saying it was because of our prayers.

After that I didn’t come for several Tuesdays because of various commitments. Then, this last week on Tuesday, late in the afternoon, I stopped by Home Depot to get some more yard bags. As I came through the door—there he was.

I was surprised because he only worked mornings. He told me he had looked for me these last few Tuesdays, hoping I would stop by again. And he shared with me how his daughter is going through the testing period before she starts treatment. Today was her MRI. He was so happy and hopeful for her. He invited me to keep dropping by on Tuesdays.

I cannot tell you how outside my comfort zone this kind of thing is. And yet, there is a level of grace present each time I have come by to encourage him in one way or another. And truly, he has encouraged me more. I wonder in my heart if he is really a born-again Christian, or more religious than relational.

I have no clue where all this is going, but he and his family are alone in a foreign country, a man who had to flee his homeland and humble himself from the status of professor to working at the Garden Dept at Home Depot. A man who is hoping and praying his daughter will be restored.

And I cannot just walk away, having done my good deed for the month. Jesus called us to love one another. And this cuts across all kinds of lines and shakes us right out of our comfortable boxes and gets right under our skin. It’s hard, uncomfortable—even scary at times—and also amazing and beautiful.

But it is totally impossible apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." (John 15:12)

-Sally Klein O'Connor

2/12/24