Coffee, cancer and roses

I’m neither Bezalel nor Oholiab. I’m Suzanne.

Mind you, I’d like to have been Oholiab. Beza and Holi (as Aussie peers would have called them had they lived today) were the topic of my reading today in Exodus 35:30 – 36:1. God gave them skills and abilities to carry out the creative work of building the temple and also training others to do so … Oholiab in particular had a real gift of teaching (Exodus 35:34). I'm a little jealous of the rich and meaningful lives they led.

Three millenia later and my life has taken a few unexpected turns. The fact is that I’m neither Beza nor Holi, nor do I live in their time. I’m Suzanne (sometimes called Suz or Zana for short, depending on who is speaking). Yet the same wise God continues to call, equip and use His people in ways unique to who He has created them to be.

Because I had cancer (and will continue with regular checks for some time), I have become a regular visitor to Moorabbin (the Monash Cancer Centre). Because I go to Moorabbin and it is so close to Brighton, I go for a paddle at the beach there as often as I can. I recently learnt that there is a Tibetan Buddhist Study Centre in nearby East Brighton, and so went to visit. Because I like coffee and they have a sweet little café attached to the centre, I have become a frequent sipper there - there is no cafe at the beach. Because I like roses, a conversation ensued with Julie* (one of the staff who brought in roses) who, as it turns out, comes from a town in Asia not far from where I used to visit. Yesterday, I learned that Kane* (a barista there) dreams of one day opening his own coffee shop near his family home of … (drum roll) … the mountain town where my absolute favourite coffee shop in the world is located. It has been years since he left that town, long before there were any coffee shops in the area.

There are people in Australia from all over Tibet and neighbouring lands. Yet the first two with whom I’ve had any significant conversations come from the same small part of Asia I know a bit, love a lot and hope to continue visiting. What are the chances of that?!

I may not be Holi or Beza, but I am Zana, and we serve a common master. Just as God created them as unique and used them powerfully to create something with a lasting legacy, it is my hope and expectation that God will also use me. I am just a middle-aged Aussie woman who enjoys beautiful places, pretty roses and fragrant coffee. 

Time alone will tell where that will lead. 

(*Julie and Kane are pseudonyms, because I didn't want to identify them on a public blog. Things are a bit unstable in their homeland, which is why they're here.)