A moment with Ali...

No you probably don't know him, but you see him every week, sometimes more. You say hi and good bye, but do you really know him.?. probably not. I don't know everything about him, but his soft eyes and wide smile always make me feel welcome. His heart does the rest.

 Ali owns a gasoline station, he has a small fit stature, but a heart of gold. He talks to people about the weather, the economy and even the latest news. Ali just asks me "Did you just get back?"... We can skip all the mundane weather chat, because he knows how much I want to tell him about my latest preaching visit or mission project. He genuinely listens, and sometimes teaches me a word or two in Arabic.

Everyone else calls him "Al".. I can't do it. He is Ali, man of many cultures, friend of all he meets. I don't know much about Ali's faith beliefs. I never ask. I don't want to. Ali's ministry of caring and warm welcome is a blessing in my life. If he believes in God as Allah, he is doing well to credit his faith with peace and love. If he is Christian, he is doing well to credit his faith with peace and love..if he is something else in belief, he brings honor to it, because he is so kind.

Ali's early life was one of strife and learning to adapt to life in other places, born to Palestinian parents in a Syrian refugee camp .He never gave up on his dream for the life he wanted... Here he helps Americans survive the rat race, by making people feel welcome at his business. I like to bring Ali cookies, because they are something that we can share without having to explore theological correctness of any kind. You just eat them. It is my way of loving him, with no judgement from the world, and he can accept in the same way.

I confess that a few weeks ago when the world was hanging on by a thread, I was not just devastated for the people who were so blatantly abused in Syria, I was also sickened by the people in many nations who talked about the "costs"of war and peace, with human life as the commodity. Why, because Ali is my connection to that area of the world,  Ali is my living breathing neighbor... whom I adore. I know that with Ali's genuine goodness that no matter where his home is, I am welcome. He in no commodity or number to consider for damages. He is instead my friend. You can speak politics with Ali, and have a good conversation. I wish he was a moderator, because he has a good sense of justice..

While his business is not the closest fuel station around, I always try to find time for a moment with Ali....