The store was open on Sunday evening, even though it was well past 5 p.m. As I sourced nuts and dried cranberries, I kept returning to the half-ripe dates best enjoyed with Emirati coffee. I anticipate replaying the experience of being guided on how to enjoy the dates with the warm cardamom-led spice-infused green coffee. It was a unique experience that opened the door to something I never imagined. Today, as it is with each sighting, I can hear his voice and invitation and feel the wow that followed.
My enjoyment is so high that it feels like an indulgence. Given the portions that I am consuming, it is a healthy addition to my diet. As thankful as I am for the introduction, each opportunity to recreate my experience is a choice that needs to come from within.
As the sun gathered momentum to end the day, I found myself listening to Life play out the scene as a lesson for the day ahead of me.
For the uninitiated, starting with myself until the kind introduction by another, the plate of dates has no reference. They do not look like the ripe dates I see in pictures or in the store. I do not recall seeing them before I came to the Emirates. With the introduction and guidance, I have come to appreciate every opportunity to indulge.
Learning how to choose the right dates for the occasion, followed by how to enjoy them, takes time. Next to me, I watched and listened as an intense discussion about similar, yet different, dates unfolded. I understood that there were two viewpoints. In addition to not understanding either position, I have no idea what these dates tasted like or how to enjoy them.
Divinity is often as foreign as the dates. As I think of my experiences, I recall the cautionary advice; “For as long, then, as that promise of resting in him [Divinity] pulls us on to God’s goal for us, we need to be careful that we’re not disqualified.” (Hebrews 4.1). Disqualified or never deciding to try.
