The cost of peace...

‘Maybe it’s an ‘inside job’, it almost always is.’

That’s what ‘they’ say and I would lie if that though hasn’t gone through my head. In the middle of the night somebody has broken into our house to steal all the valuables. Did they know where to find them? How would they know? I sit on the porch in front of the house and see two of the gardeners approach. I like them. They are friendly and the girls enjoy watching them and chatting with them. They become part of the girls’ games when they have time. I don’t want to suspect them. In my head I think about all the people who work on our compound. There are nine of them and there is not one that I want to suspect.

We want to tell you story’. The short gardener starts talking. He doesn’t look at me while he speaks. ‘A solar panel was stolen at the mosque that I go to. It was a big one and it was expensive so when it was gone we were all very sad. But the herbalist told us who had done it. Then we got it back.’ Once he is finished, he looks at me. His face reveals that the story was a question. I know what he is saying. In this culture there is a lot of talking in circles and you need to listen to what isn’t said to know what was said. But before I can say anything, the tall gardener explains. ‘ In our culture, a herbalist is like a witchdoctor, they have magical power. Many people have got things back that were stolen through him’ Now they both look at me, waiting for my answer. Internally I am debating what I need to say but before I can open my mouth, the short man talks again. ‘We want to go for you. We want to ask the herbalist if he can use his magic to get your things back.’

‘Are you asking for my permission or are you telling me that you will go?’ I am not sure what they want from me. The difference is important. I know I can’t stop them, herbalists and their witchcraft are deeply rooted in the daily practises. It’s the faith in them that’s unites people who can’t agree whether it’s Jesus or Allah who spoke the truth. They want my opinion because they’ll go anyway. That’s easier. I tell that I believe that a herbalist has power, but that it is not the kind of power that I want to interact with because I believe that the only power we should trust in is the power of God.

The tall man starts laughing, a wide, warm smile. ‘We also believe in Jesus, but this is how we do it here, and it works because this is our culture.’ I smile. I know I can’t stop them. And the fact that they want to go is the perfect proof of their innocence. People are terrified for the powers of the herbalist. If they knew that they had been part of the crime, they would stay far away of him, out of fear of being exposed.

A few days later the gardeners come back to report on their visit to the herbalist. ‘It’s simple!’ they say. ‘Really simple and you will get your stuff back. You need to give the herbalist 15 needles. With that, he will make a magic potion that you need to put in the places where the stolen items were. Then the thief will come back within five days to return the stolen items.’ The message is delivered with confident smile. They have just brought me amazing news, right? They see the doubt on my face, so they help a little. ‘It’s just like the solar panel. That was also returned. And so many other things too. Can you give the needles so that we can go back as soon as possible?’ 

Of course I would like the stolen items back, but the cost is too high. No, it’s not the 15 needles that I am talking about; they are cheap. It’s also not that I think that it won’t work. It might. The devil has more power than what I would like to give him credit for. But the cost of it is that I allow spirits that are not from God in my house. That I, just like Abraham, say “God I trust you, but I have also made my own plan, just to be sure…’. I don't want to trade my peace for my stolen items; they are not worth that much. So I explain why we won’t do it. And while I speak, I feel fear wash away and peace fill my heart.

When something hard happens, it’s natural to look for meaning, for something that made it worthwhile, and for me, it might be this. A fresh opportunity to know that God knows us. With trusting in Him, we may not get our laptop back, but we do get ‘a peace that transcends all understanding’. The kind of peace that cannot be explained. A life without fear, despite everything that happened. Because we know that our Father holds us in the palm of his hands. And that Father knows what we need in a way that’s much more holistic and profound than anything that a thief can steal.