Hobnobbing in Morocco

It's not quite what you might be thinking. Marcia's lying in bed and hobnobbing in Morocco? Yes, it's true. I am munching on my most favorite cracker, from England, while trying to recover from a parasite or the flu. At this point, I don't know what it is since it continues to linger. I think my body is just saying, "Stay at home and make your own art while sipping tea and munching on hobnobs."

What a lovely thought and life that would be. Maybe this afternoon. Now, I am resting, listening to the lively sounds of many stirring for the day's activities in the patisserie square below my apartment. Muslim men are belly laughing, delivery trucks are picking up pastries for shops throughout the city, men on mo-peds are speeding by, some with their families barely staying on their bikes, no helmets, and other men are setting up for the day in the cafe connected with the patisserie. The local venders of cactus fruit and bananas are passing through with their donkey carts.

Right below my apartment.

Here, men, typically, work outside, women work inside. If a man does not have an office, which most don't, they set up shop with their cell phones at the men-only cafes, order endless cups of tea, light up their cigarettes and wait for calls for employment. These are the electricians, carpenters, plumbers and such. Some never get a call during the day, but they have been outside, so no shame has come on them. 


One might see women on the porches of apartments, but that's really venturing out for them. If a woman goes out, she is covered, often in a black jellaba and head covering. A man she is walking with may be in shorts and a T-shirt, but never the woman. He may actually be walking with two women and some children. Then we know he has two wives. A man can have up to four wives.

Men making mosaic tiles.

In contrast to this scene, I remember seeing men working inside the pottery/tile studio in Fes, so some do work inside. The men making the tiles actually sat on the dusty gray ground to hammer out those tiles. It was amazing to see them chisel by banging, in just the right places, all those tiny tiles that would some day be beautiful mosaics in grand buildings. 


This reminds me of how God uses the pieces or "tiles" of our lives to design a beautiful mosaic that is for his glory and our good. Let me tell you, when the banging part is going on, I'm not really happy. I have to trust he is banging in just the right places to produce the beautiful mosaic that is each of our lives. I can't second guess what He is doing in your life or mine. Trusting Him is my hard work...I want to be the clay telling Him, the potter, what to do, and certainly NOT to bang. 

Covering an object with tiles.

However, I have trusted Jesus as my good, perfect, loving savior, so I trust I am in His good, loving, trustworthy hands. And, while we are at it, let's encourage each other as His creating goes on in each of us, knowing He is creating beauty, truth and goodness. That part is probably hard sometimes, because we may not trust what God may be doing in someone else. Especially if it is slow going.

During my days of lying in bed, I have time to reflect and enjoy the goodness of God in my life. He and I have been working on the soil of my heart. I've looked over many photos just to remind myself of all God is creating right here in Morocco. So, you might say, I have just been hobnobbing with Him! No one better to be with.


My verse for today: Ephesians 2:10 says,"For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."