A little while after we arrived in Cairo the time came to register our newly acquired car – a Daihatsu Terios  – and many of our ‘Cairo savvy’  friends suggested that I get the help of an ‘experienced’ local Egyptian to help us navigate the many pitfalls of dealing with the relevant authorities. Such an exercise for a Westerner, they told me, can be quite testing of one’s patience and self-control. Cairo, they said, is the “logic-free” zone of the Universe and that the majority of Egyptians, kind and warm natured as they are, approach the logistics of life in Egypt quite differently than us ‘Westerners’.

For reasons I can’t recall and with the support of Leo, an Arabic speaking Sudanese friend from our church in Maadi, I decided to tackle the job myself. So Leo and I set out for Cairo early one day with me behind the wheel of my Terios which, in the context of the Cairo traffic, I aptly named “The Terror” (because, most people who travelled with me in the Terios usually showed terror in their faces). Did we venture out prayer-pared? Sure thing! We also had all the documentation that we understood was needed to be (eventually) rewarded with registration plates for “The Terror”.

Arriving at the registration office in downtown Cairo, I noticed a dozen glass-partitioned enquiry reception counters, numbering 1-6 along one side of the room, and 7-12 along the other – and  Leo found out which window we needed to go to in order to start the process. Anyone who has experienced Cairo quickly learns that waiting patiently in a queue for service in government offices get’s you nowhere … you could probably die waiting in a queue without ever being noticed!

It quickly became very obvious (as if I hadn’t already guessed) that in Egypt, one must combine diplomatic-assertiveness with the virtue of patience if success is to be achieved. So, after four hours of being bounced from one window to another by staff who seemed to go out of their way to make the process more difficult than necessary, my file was now pregnant with an assortment of forms and tax stamps, and a ton of metal staples. At the last window, a pair of second hand metal registration plates came out of the safe (truly bizarre) in full view … yes, victory at hand, I thought! However, within moments, my hopes were dashed, together with my patience and spirit – someone had noticed that a certificate (that should have been issued by the car dealer) was missing from our file and the process hit a brick wall.

How did I react? Typically normal! With fully-charged emotions, I exploded in the face of the senior police officer in charge, telling him with a explosive combination of Lebanese Arabic, English and unmistakeable body language precisely what I thought about ‘his’ stupid bureaucratic set-up. I then stormed out of his office … without the registration plates.

When I arrived home, I told my wife Beryl the result of my efforts and asked her to give me some time and space to cool down. I sat alone in my bedroom, processing what had taken place. I knew my Christ-like character had failed under testing; and it was then that the Holy Spirit reminded me of God’s counsel through Paul – a man who was tested and tried for his faith beyond anything that many of us can imagine: “Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:16-18 NLT).

As I have travelled my journey with the Lord I have learned that often some of the most valuable lessons come at a great price. That day, I paid an instalment of the great price for learning the amazing lesson of “how” to be content in every circumstance of life.  The attitude of “being thankful” in every circumstance of life is a necessary attitude for any believer who wants to learn to ‘dance on water’ in their faith. This character attitude is ours to choose.

What will you choose?