REFLECTION ON IRAQ (With Bonus Coverage of Other Amazing Events)

Whether personally or professionally, life is comprised of a series of journeys -- journeys that lead to growth -- growth which often results in transition. The purpose of this article is two-fold. First, I would love for you to walk away from this article encouraged; encouraged that a journey through the unknown does not necessarily equate to a journey without purpose. Secondarily, I would love for you to walk away from this article motivated; motivated to earnestly seek a career that holds more 'meaning' than 'money'. In light of these objectives, here's a recent sampling of the journey I've been given...

As I reflect upon the whole of my life, I find that my life can, in large part, be conveniently divided into stages, periods, or eras - some stages have been immediately identifiable in the moment, and some have been unrecognizable until years later.

At the moment of my salvation, in July of 1989, my worldview was irreversibly altered, resulting in an equally irreversible transformation of the way I've viewed these stages. Instead of simply identifying these periods as 'good' or 'bad', 'thrilling' or 'tragic', I've seen the retrospective montage of my life as something deeper; as a reflection of my relationship with a God who pursues me and cares deeply for me. Viewing everything in light of this relationship, these same periods of life have presented more like stages of development along a trajectory, with more objective measurements, such as 'growth' or 'atrophy', 'repentance' or 'rebellion', 'obedience' or 'obstinance'.

While the events within a particular life-phase may remain unchanged, regardless of your worldview, a worldview with Christ at its center demands intentional reflection, decisive faith, and deliberate obedience. In this worldview, an event does not just 'happen'; there is an undeniable 'ripple-effect', a chain-of-events that is incomprehensibly more intricate and complex than what we see on the surface. With the passage of time, and a few lumps from hard lessons learned, I've found a little more predictable success in identifying the lesson or message within a situation; not everyone's message or lesson, for I believe those to be infinite and personalized for all impacted, but His lessons for me during a particular event. The key is silence.

I've found that if I'm willing to submit to the pain and awkwardness of silence, I will hear His voice in the quiet (1 Kings 19:11-13). As I've submitted to silent reflection on the past month in Iraq spent supporting the Emergency Field Hospital, I was given a message. Like waves on the shore, the message pummeled me, over and over again, from nearly every angle. The message was simple:

"For the sake of 'the one'..."

I'll elaborate. Given the profound influence of the worldview described above, it's impossible (or at a minimum, inadvisable) to take anything at face value, or as coincidental. Let's examine my personal set of 'circumstances' for starters...

1. 18 years ago, I happened to have been at a career decision point where I was offered the opportunity to choose between Persian-Farsi or Arabic. I struggled with the decision because both looked hard, and neither was tempting. I chose Arabic. Hold on to that thought.

2. 13 years ago, I was sent to the Middle East, without my wife and children, for 18 months. I was incredibly lonely, but I developed a high level of comfort with the culture and environment. Hold on to this one, as well.

3. 11 years ago, I was offered the opportunity to teach Arabic for a couple of years as a part of a very talented team at a foreign language institute. I accepted, and gained a bit in the way of proficiency. Also important.

4. Eight years ago, I was selected to serve with my organization's Human Resources/Human Capital Management headquarters, where I served for nearly 5 years. Critical point.

5. Five years ago, my wife and I scheduled a vacation to Boone, NC for our 20th wedding anniversary. We'd selected the location 'randomly' as a place in the North Carolina mountains with a few hotels to choose from. Shortly thereafter, my wife happened upon Samaritan's Purse's careers website, where she found multiple positions requiring expertise in the Middle East, with Arabic 'strongly preferred'. These positions were in Boone ... which we'd never visited, or even heard of, but to which we had an 'unrelated' visit scheduled. I applied to these positions, received a screening call from a recruiter within a week, made our previously scheduled trip to Boone, met with the recruiter, and found out that they couldn't wait for the six months I'd require to leave my current job - they gave the job to someone more immediately available. Wait... What? Undaunted, and clearly hearing the Lord's voice, I submitted my retirement papers in anticipation of what the Lord was going to do. I submitted applications to Samaritan's Purse for one year, and was turned down for multiple positions having to do with my international and region-specific experience. I was confused, and eventually accepted another HR position in Kentucky. On the morning my wife and I were going to sign to purchase a home in Kentucky, with our belongings packed on a moving van set for delivery to this home, I received an e-mail asking if I would like to discuss a Recruiter position with the Samaritan's Purse Human Resources Department. I interviewed, they liked me enough to say 'Yes', I turned down the house and the other job. Not what I thought it might look like, and no sign of the Middle East or Arabic, but it was a 'Happy Ending'. The End. Or so I thought.

6. Just before Christmas of 2016, Samaritan's Purse stepped out on faith in commitment to serve the people of N. Iraq with an Emergency Field Hospital to serve victims of war and terror. A colossal, God-sized undertaking. They require HR assistance from our department to help hire nearly 100 Iraqi national staff. There's a need, I'm available, and suddenly, both the Middle East and Arabic are back in play "For a time such as this..." Esther 4:14.

This is my story and it still amazes me, even as I type and re-live it at this moment. How much more amazing, though, that the story of each and every servant and patient at the Emergency Field Hospital is just as intricately and intimately orchestrated? Sovereignty on full display.

So it is, that in the complexity of His sovereign design, we seek understanding and meaning. Why? All of these people, all of these vast resources. Why? In order to derive informed and accurate meaning or purpose, we need look no further than the heart of God. We often seek answers that make sense within some sort of rational, metric, or fiscal context, but God is not motivated, nor confined by our earthly rationalizations of 'common sense'.

Simply put, I believe that God orchestrated all of these stories, schedules, talents, and resources for the sake of 'the one':

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” - Luke? ?15:4?

This is the message God had for me in the silence. We don't know who, specifically, and we may never know, but God used the complexities of this situation to remind me of the value of one soul - one lost sheep.

In the name of a heretical ideology, evil men are committing unfathomable atrocities and inhuman horrors against the people of Nineveh, but in the face of this darkness, the light is absolutely overcoming the darkness. These lost sheep in Iraq are being sought out by a loving God, showered with healing and grace through the hands of willing heroes, and, at times, ushered into a right relationship with their Creator. These are not a people won over by coercion, or the promise of a service that would otherwise be unavailable, these are a people transformed by an encounter with those reflecting the Son.

All of this orchestration for one soul? All of these resources for the sake of one genuine interaction with those serving as the hands and feet of Christ? Absolutely.