It’s hard to believe it’s been over seven years since I started this thing called “An Iris Awaits.” Since that time, God has graciously allowed me to share things that He has laid on my heart on a variety of topics, but all with the view of challenging and encouraging others to go deeper in their relationship with Him and to see how that relationship is, or at least can and should be, integral to every aspect of our lives, not just put in a “spiritual” or “Christianity” box that we keep separate from everything else.
Over the
last seven years, we’ve delved into passages from the Bible; we’ve looked at
lessons to be learned from classic literature; we’ve heard from friends on a
breadth of topics they are passionate about and heard how their faith informs
their work in those areas; we’ve examined current events in light of truths
from God’s Word; and most recently we’ve begun exploring how interacting with
different cultures—particularly Middle Eastern culture—can help us better
understand God and the Bible.
From the
beginning, my primary audience has been the American Church, because believers
from my home country were the majority of my community, and they were the ones
my heart was most burdened for, desiring to see their faith become solid, vibrant,
and authentically lived-out. But in the past few years, my community has
rapidly expanded to include the Arab Church, both with family and with friends.
And while my heart is still very much burdened in the same way for my American
brothers and sisters, that burden has now grown to include my Arab brothers and
sisters as well.
Time and
again as my husband and I have been serving in church or having conversations
with friends, biblical resources have come to mind that would be incredibly
helpful in the given situation but that are only available in English. And
while English is essentially a second language where we live and many people
are able to speak fluently and read fluently (or nearly so), it is still
frustrating for us and others not to be able to share these
biblical resources with people here in Arabic, their heart language.
Sometime
last year, my friend and Arabic teacher asked me if I had ever thought about
publishing posts in Arabic. I hadn’t really, but thanks to her question, I gave
it some thought at the time. As she pointed out, there are not many written
resources for Christian discipleship in Arabic. It wasn’t long, though, before
the idea had slipped to the back of my mind as other things took precedence.
Fast-forward to the end of 2022, and as I was thinking about the new year, the
Lord suddenly and strongly brought the idea to the forefront of my mind. This
was something I knew I needed to do in 2023.
Over the
past few months, the Lord has given confirmation through responses from others
with whom I floated the idea and by providing several friends to help with
translation work. So beginning this month, I’m opening a new section here on
the blog that will be dedicated to posts in the Arabic language. While I will
continue writing and posting in English (typically every other Monday), this
new area will contain Arabic translations of selected posts from the past seven
years (typically published one Wednesday a month for starters).
Will you
join me in praying that these Arabic-language posts will make their way to
those who need them, that our fellow believers who speak Arabic will be
challenged and encouraged in their walk with Christ, that those who are
“Christians in name only” will recognize their need to make a personal decision
to follow Christ, and that those who have no interest in knowing Jesus will
begin to see the beauty of a relationship with Him? I have no idea how God
wants to use this meager offering of ours, but I am beyond excited to see what
He will do. All glory to His Name!
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