Who are the Iraqi people? How are they alike or different from us?
Like us, they want stability in their nation and to raise their families in peace. They want to be recognized legitimately as a people that contribute to the world. They have a sense of humor not much unlike our own. They laugh at things we laugh at and cry at the things that cause us to cry. What sets them apart is that they have endured three wars in their homeland, leaving their self-esteem torn and battered. Naturally, their emotional stability has become destabilized.
There were days that Brandt felt he was in a bad place. Violence and crime are a gnarly combination that can sour anyone’s view of a location. But there were other days when Brandt would realize, “good grief I am stuck in traffic just like they are.” They were both suffering. It is hot; engines are overheating. They are just trying to get home too; they were all in the same boat. There is something about the camaraderie of mutual suffering that levels the playing field.
Being stuck in traffic for hours at a time was not an uncommon experience. He would roll his window down and turn the car off. It was easy to carry on conversations with those stuck in traffic next to him. Inevitably his Arabic would run out, and others would ask, “Are you an American?” Brandt would say, “Yes, I am,” and they would go on to tell him, “Oh, thank you for being in our country. We love America. Thank you so much. We love you. We love George Bush.” They love freedom.
The violence, the mundane hardship of traffic jams, the lack of electricity all define the unsettled city of Baghdad, a city at war. God knew exactly where Brandt was. God led him there. And throughout all the trials that he and his family contended with, God showed his wonderful love to them.
Father, while our friends and family are in war torn cities in foreign lands, show them your wonderful love.
“Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city.” (Psalm 31:21)