My excitement about flying however is not the point of this. Many of you know that I went to Missions Orientation at AIM Headquarters this week in Peachtree City GA. It was incredible, but draining. I don't feel like I have any reason to be tired. I mean it's not like I ran a marathon, but I think I ran an emotional marathon. Have you ever been sitting in a one hour session at a conference and you go through approximately 1,000 different emotions in that time frame? One minute I was laughing, then I was almost crying, then I was excited then I was scared, then I was nervous... well you get the picture. It was all in the midst of this one session on Culture Shock.
"There are four stages," our wonderful facilitator for that session Stephanie said, "Fun, Flight, Fight, Fit."
(What she may or may not know is that I think I went through every one of them DURING her discussion.)
Let me give those of you who don't know a quick overview of each stage.
Fun: Everything is new and exciting. It looks like a super amazing adventure and it will be great!!!
Flight: Reality of the difference in cultures sets in and you are a little more hesitant... what were you thinking? Are you nuts?
Fight: This is the extreme of the flight stage. This is where you begin to hate everything about the new culture, you are constantly comparing it to everything in your culture and you are literally, FREAKING OUT!
Fit: They tell me this stage occurs, where you learn to appreciate the culture and find your place. This stage seems a little mythical, to be honest. I saw it on a video we watched, but my mama told me never to trust what I see on TV. =P
Okay, so here is my purpose in telling you all of this. I realized something as I was flying home yesterday.
Transitioning to a new culture is much like the flying itself. You take off and head full speed away from everything you know and love. It is exciting, but as you look back you begin to wonder if this was really a good idea.You are leaving everything you know for something radically different. Something that you are not even sure really exists!
As you go into the clouds, the hesitation grows more intense. You hit a bit of turbulence, you can't see what you left behind anymore and all you see are clouds that are blinding you. You dream of home and think of the things you know because you can't even begin to fathom that the new things will really be okay. Sometimes it's just low visibility, sometimes there is lightning and rain as you fly through the clouds, but either way the unknown and misunderstood is uncomfortable.
Then finally, there is a break in the clouds, and you are literally on top of the world. You are above all the clouds that seemed to be choking you and you see it from a new perspective. You realize why God has brought you through this and you realize the things in this new place that are breathtakingly amazing. You know that the place you left behind is back somewhere, but you know you were meant to be in this new place, admiring God from a new perspective.
Though I haven't been to a foreign country, I was thinking about all that I had learned about culture shock and to be honest I was feeling nervous about it, but God, in his infinite wisdom, gave me a incredible bit of perspective as I flew through the clouds. In the midst of the clouds, when things seem bleakest, when the panic sets in and you question your sanity, there is a pilot who knows where He is going. He is guiding you and leading you and bringing you through the clouds to safety.
God has a purpose for my trip. I have an idea of what it will be, but only He knows the TRUE destination. He knows exactly where I am going and the purpose for every cloud in the sky. I am in good hands. I will choose to trust the pilot and have no fear.
No comments:
Post a Comment