a theme?

Those of you who know me well know that I've been reading books by Iranian women for years. I'm fascinated with their stories. Not so much the style by which they write, but the content of their lives. Most of them weave a tale of suffering, isolation, and fear. But in the midst of that, there's always the stories of the harem, the time with family, the cooking. It's always been amazing to me that in the midst of social upheaval, ancient customs never change.

Just last month I got my hair cut by an Iranian. It was both a disaster and indicative of my curiosity.

I went JUST for a hair cut. But I was so enamored by her accent and story (I KNEW her emigration involved persecution of some kind) that when she suggested I let her fix my awful root situation with highlights I was distracted. In a classic middle eastern way she bluntly told me my hair looked unhealthy, like I didn't take care of it and I should let her fix it. Still thinking about how to ask her the nature of her persecution I agreed to have it colored to match my roots. By the end of the morning, I had straight black hair! Again, too hypnotized by her voice to struggle over the blow drying... deja vu, I found myself with large round brushes in my hair as she pulled out the curl. Turkey all over again. No wonder I never get my hair cut. It's traumatic for me!

Anyways, over the Xmas holiday I also read about Afghanistan and Pakistan and one man's quest to build schools for girls to end terrorism in this region of the world. Three Cups of Tea is a must read for anyone who cares about kids, education, poverty and individual heroism. In fact, I was so moved that I scoured their website for ways to be involved and decided that for now I'd be collecting pennies. (The first fund raising campaign was painful for Greg Mortenson. Needing only $12,000 to build the first school on a mountain ledge at the foot of K2, the tallest mountain in the world, he received his first donation from his Mother's class... $163 in pennies!)

This was a new region for me as I had never known much about Pakistan and the borders of Afghanistan. It led to another book, Kite Runner, which, although a novel, is written by an Afgani of the tragedies of the Taliban. Needless to say, I was appalled to even imagine any of his fiction approximating truth. The senseless victimization of children incensed me...

And led to another investigation. Chris and I are now reading several books on human trafficking. I'm in the midst of Not For Sale, by David Batstone, and have put it down only to give a little update to my faithful readers! :) WOW! This is stuff I'm not sure what to do with. I'll reserve commentary for a time when I'm a little less raw and when I've done a little more research. But coupled with having watched Amazing Grace last night (about William Wilberforce who brought slavery to an end in the British Empire) I'm left feeling overwhelmed with the current slavery issue we have in this world.

Never ones to be content with small contributions when a principle has gripped us, Chris and I are both wondering what God is doing in our lives. I haven't felt like this in a long time. When I had some of these thoughts going on in college I changed my major, my summer plans, my church...

I'm just wondering how all of this weaves together. I've always believed God works through themes in our lives, that our passions, desires, interests,and experiences are not isolated, but intrinsically connected. Hmm... what's the story here?