As I was reflecting on my Greece trip, one of the things that God brought to my mind was the importance of creating a safe space.
Near the end of the trip, as we were going through the airport, I was stopped a couple times before we had gotten to the security point where I was stopped again and asked, “Where are you from?” This was unusual as normally I just get stopped at security.
To be honest with you, I get stopped at the airport 90% of the time. The sad part is that being stopped at the airport is something I expect to happen.
Praise the Lord, I didn’t get stopped on the way out to Greece, which was a miracle in my eyes. I realized that the multiple stops and questioning was because of the influx of refugees that are in the area that are trying to leave. They thought I was one of them.
However, this time at the airport, I experienced something different. I wasn’t the only one to be stopped at the airport. One of the members of the other team that joined our group was also stopped. He was in fact a refugee, but was furtherer along the journey than those we served.
He didn’t just get stopped at security, but also just as we were about to get on a bus to take us to our plane. If one of our team members didn’t wait with him he might have not been able to get on the plane.
In that moment, I realized that what I had experienced was just a glimpse of what many refugees face on a daily basis. I also realized that their journey is filled with uncertainty. Even while having some identification, the feelings of safety and security is not something that was expected.
I was told later on that he had experienced worse things in his previous flying experiences. For example, being brought into a room for questioning and held long enough for him to miss his flight, or being thrown into a holding cell until his identification could be verified.
Seeing a brother, who has been through so much and treated unfairly breaks my heart. I understand that security and law enforcement are just doing their job and so my anger is not towards them but towards the sin that penetrates the systems of this world that make it difficult for love to exist.
I realized that one of the things that our team did for this guy was create a safe space for him to be loved and cared for but more importantly valued as a brother in Christ. I don’t even think we realized we were actually doing it. I just know that he didn’t have to show us his identification to prove where he was from; he didn’t have to convince us that he was a good guy; and he could just be himself. He was simply embraced as a brother, a part of our team, a friend who is loved by God and us.
We may never know the impact of the time we spent with him. But when I contrast that moment in the airport with the moments we had on the trip, it is life changing.
Father, I pray that LifeSpring would be a safe space for all who enter it. I pray that the people of LifeSpring would go out into the world and create safe spaces for those who need it. May your unfailing love and your abundance of grace go with us wherever we go. May your spirit guide us and enable us to love one another, just as you have loved us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!