re-entry...
transition...
the process i go through no matter which 'home' i'm heading to or from...
being cross-cultural is a little like being schizophrenic...
let me explain.
i land in america...i am overcome with things like...
color, manicured lawns, cleanliness, comfort, ease, abundance, busyness, media, entertainment, opportunity...
it's almost too much...my senses can't handle it all...
like spending too much time at the mall perfume counter...all the beautiful scents swarm together into one slightly nauseating cloud of overwhelming smell...
suddenly life in mongolia seems simple...meaningful...desirable...
oh, not in the everyday survival of it all...but in the way it makes my heart sensitive to the deeper things of life...eternity...God. i face them head-on...every day...i have no choice...
and also in the way it makes me giddy over the little things...like cheddar cheese and hot showers.
a person doesn't (or can't) fully appreciate all they have...until they don't have it.
last week i re-entered our mongolian home...
land at the airport...sit in traffic for three hours ...stare at the monochrome, cement landscape...come home to jackhammers at our doorstep and a freezing apartment void of heat and lacking the hot water needed to wash off my 36 hour trip across the pacific...
geez!...
waking up to reality can be a real kick in the pants!
and suddenly life in america seems better...easier...desirable...
with a nostalgic smile on my face i think...'wasn't it glorious standing at the counter and taking in all the wonderful smells?'
and voices in my head say 'make up your mind crazy lady!'
the diagnosis?...cross-cultural schizophrenia....
...i am...a crazy woman.
but really i'm not...i'm just learning (and learning and learning) what it means to be content...in only Jesus...wherever whenever whatever...
it's actually something i believe we all need to be learning...it's just that somehow i seem to have gotten myself enrolled in the accelerated course...
(fyi...i'm struggling to keep up with the class load!)
paul said he learned to be content both in plenty and in need...and i say 'kudos brother!' because i'm not sure i have...
in plenty...
what we have, and the opportunity to have even more, take over our passions...
in need...
what we could have does the same.
so my challenge today...to you and to myself...
is to pursue contentment...
in nothing, i mean it, nothing outside of Jesus...
to surrender...
not qualifying it with what we might gain...
to worship...
with every.thing every.day...
trusting Him with the results...
and for no other reason than...
He's worthy.
