Cross Cultural Realities

I am becoming more and more convinced that the key to cross cultural living is having the courage to humble yourself and  look like an idiot. I basically have to realize that whenever I step outside the safety of my apartment that the chances are very high that I am going to do something very uncool. Now, some of you might be thinking that doesn’t sound very different than my life in America and I would probably agree. But if you can even imagine in it, the chances are even higher here in Bosnia. Seemingly impossible, but it is the truth.  Like the other day– I am still trying to figure out the way locks work here in Bosnia because locks go on both sides of the door. So I nearly got locked inside my own apartment because I couldn’t figure out how to unlock the door. Then the same thing happened when I was trying to unlock the gate around the place I am staying at, so what was my solution? I jumped the fence of course! A very unsophisticated thing to do for a wannabe European woman such as myself… but oh well. 

Another thing that I am learning to embrace is the spiritual discipline of waiting. A lot of this is due to the book that some dear friends recommended to me called “When the Heart Waits” by Sue Monk Kidd. It is this amazing book all about how essential waiting and resting with God is to our spiritual and mental health. This has been such a great encouragement as I am in a situation where I am forced to wait for a lot of things. These things include: moving into my apartment, building community, understanding the ministry here, adjusting to the culture, learning the language, knowing my way around Sarajevo, knowing what I am doing tomorrow, etc… The great thing about it all is that since I am so aware of the need to wait and that I need to cultivate the gift of patience is that whenever I have that voice in my head rushing at me with all these questions, demands, expectations, fears, judgments… I choose to respond with “Wait!” And it actually works! I return to my focus on God and find that precious inner peace that only He gives. This is pretty much miraculous since all my human inclinations and patterns of my life tell me to run fast and to fear this idea of waiting for anything. Because when you wait you have to get real with yourself and look at that terrifying inner darkness… What can I say? I am a good American. BUT, I have to believe that the waiting is significant, because then I can look at every moment that God gives me in this process as a moment to treasure and appreciate. I just need to pay attention and not be distracted by what I am waiting for… because believe it or not… that is not the point! What a paradox! 

“God is offering an invitation. A call to waiting… I discovered that in the spiritual life, the long way around is the saving way. It isn’t the quick and easy religion we we’re accustomed to. It’s deep and difficult– a way that leads into the vortex of the soul where we touch God’s transformative powers. But we have to be patient. We have to let go and tap into our creative stillness. Most of all, we have to trust that our scarred hearts really do have wings.” – When the Heart Waits, Sue Monk Kidd

Boziji Blagoslovi. God bless.