same kind of different as me

I just finished the best book, Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. A good friend loaned it to me and I looooved it! I laughed and I cried and I cried some more. I found myself gasping and saying "no way" out loud. You have to read this book, it will move you.

"A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery. An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel. A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream. A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it up." (from the back of the book)

With this book fresh on my mind, I set out to run some errands this morning. I only had one thing I had to do and that was buy my daughter's teacher a flower for teacher appreciation day. The stores weren't open yet, so I made a pitstop at Krispy Kreme doughnuts. YES, we do have Krispy Kremes in Doha. I picked up two dozen doughnuts to drop off at the middle school teacher's lounge.

Since the regular stores weren't open, I decided to go to the fruit and vegetable market nearby and see if they might have fresh flowers. I had never been there before and it was like stepping back in time. The produce stands were bursting with fruits and veggies. They used big, old, balancing scales, like the ones from high school science class, to weigh your purchases. The Indian, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi sales guys are very persuasive. You cast an eye on something in their stand and they know they have you. "Smell" they say, and hold some unusual melon up to my nose. He was right, it smelled delicious. Before, I knew it, I had a box full of fruit, cherries, peaches, melons, apples, oranges, mandarins, bananas and a mango he threw in for free. Old men with long white beards in traditional dress, stand nearby with wheel barrows, hoping you will need help hauling your groceries to the car and you will give them a tip. I am a sucker and by the time I left, I not only had spent most of my money, but I had given the young Indian salesman my two boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I bet they will remember me next time. I hope so! These guys, with names like Kenin from Syria and Prabash from Sri Lanka, are precious to God and he loves them. All those verses in the bible that talk about how much he loves us, how he knit us in our mother's wombs, how he knows the number of hairs on our head, how he knows the plans he has for us: those verses are about Kenin and Prabash, too. It is up to us to let them in on it!

My perceptive 11 year old son commented that this post doesn't seem to have anything to do with the book. It does, but you will have to read the book for yourself and see how it impacts you.

One of my favorite quotes from the book is this...

"Just tell em I'm a nobody that's trying to tell everbody 'bout Somebody that can save anybody." Denver Moore