From a distance

I happened to catch a bit of Betty Midler's goodbye performance in Las Vegas. Apparently, she'd been doing a show there for three years. I enjoy several of the songs she has been singing over the past few years and none more so than  'From a Distance'. You can hear her singing this song here if you wish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXOgn8-aEaA

"God is watching us from a distance."

I have recently finished a memoir and must return it in a few days to a dear woman who loaned it to me. The book is titled 'The Rugmaker of Mazar-E- Sharif' by Najaf Mazari & Robert Hillman.

It is the story of an Afghan man who leaves Afghanistan in fear of his life. He has already been taken by the Taliban, beaten regularly until his declaration of ignorance in spite of the regular beatings lead the Taliban to believe that he is telling the truth and they let him go. Knowing that it is not the end of the matter, his friends and family gather together the money needed to get him over the border to Pakistan and onto a leaky, unseaworthy boat that is bound for Australia.

Of course, the boat doesn't make it all the way but they are rescued by Australian authorities and he is put into detention until it can be determined if his case is genuine and if he should be allowed to remain in Australia. I promise you that if you read the book you will never think about illegal aliens in the same way again.

Alas, I can't find the quote I wanted to share about Nareef and his relationship with God. However, at one point he thinks about his life and what he has managed to achieve - that he has worked hard to learn the art of carpet weaving and he thinks to himself that if God should look down on his people and he was scanning his eye and saw Nareef working hard he would something like, "Ah, there is Nareef. He has been a good man. He is working hard. I am pleased with the way he has turned out."

And, this pleases Nareef greatly that God should be pleased with him; that he has always done the right and honorable thing.

Nareef writes, "...all that God asks of us is persistence." and later,

"We can never be sure when God is listening. Sometimes we shout at the top of our voices, and He makes no reply at all. But a whisper? Sometimes a whisper works better than shouting."

I was moved countless times whilst reading this story but tears only rolled down my cheeks once. Perhaps the tears were from sheer relief. Finally, his ordeal was over and his life was complete.

By now, Nareef has been in Australia for some time and his joyous, sunny disposition, commitment and work ethic has attracted the assistance of several Australians who go well and truly out of their way to help him.

Here he is, finally, at Tullamarine Airport one early morning awaiting the arrival of his wife and daughter, getting more and more disturbed and worried as more and more people come out of the International gates and he still cannot see them. Maybe something has gone wrong, he worries. He has had enough setbacks in his life for this to be a genuine concern in his mind.

"Easy, mate, easy," his friend says to him.

And suddenly, there they are. He sees them.

"Blessings, blessings," he says as he rushes towards them.

And, that's when I began to cry. Who of us could not be moved by this?

But, it is not enough for Nazar to be grateful for his new life in Australia (and he has made a very good life here). He has set up a fund with friends to build schools and buy ambulances for the people of Mazar-e-Sharif so that they can share in  his good future.

From a distance, I think God is very proud indeed.