Happy Fourth!
Holidays always have a different feel over here in Africa. For one, the weather never quite lines up right. We go swimming for Christmas fun. We dodge rain showers to get our Halloween pictures in. And we fan ourselves vigorously throughout the Easter Service. Holidays are also supposed to be a family thing, and family is kind of far away. The enthusiasm for a BBQ dies out quickly when you realize that your only guests will be your younger siblings.
I'm not really sure why we try to keep celebrating anyway, why we go to the trouble of keeping at least one or two small traditions. Maybe it's because we like to have a reason to celebrate, to laugh, to eat good food, to do something out of the ordinary...to remember where we came from. So, we dye our food green on St. Patrick's Day, eat turkey-that-is-really-chicken for Thanksgiving, and for the Fourth, I'm wearing red, white, and blue.
Yeah, it's a small thing. We don't have fireworks, or hamburgers, or a big gathering of friends and family, but it's as good a day as ever to thank God for giving us the chance to live in country that despite it's many flaws has given us the great freedom to worship God. It's as good a day as ever to celebrate my heritage. I've moved around a lot, and there are many different cultures and people that claim parts of my heart, but today I'm reminded that I'm an American.
Honestly, the thought of being an American is an interesting one to me, as I usually spend most of my time here trying to figure out how to NOT be American. I try to pick up on mannerisms, ways of thinking, and phrases that don't really fit here (and get rid of them). I try to learn what to do, how to do it, and how to say it as if I were born here. It's a laughable endeavor because I will never succeed in so short a time, but it's definitely worth working towards.
Today my toes remind me of the culture I am from, the family I'm going back to, and a way of life that is not the one I'm living now. I'm thinking of how easy it is to speak English. How easy it is to interact with people without even vaguely wondering if I'm accidentally offending, or doing something culturally inappropriate. How easy it is to be a light in a country that won't persecute you; the freedom we Christians have.
But I also remember home. The real HOME. The one that is made of all cultures and really the only one that matters, Jesus culture. The one where freedom is perfect, love is infinite, and people are united. The one where I won't have to think hard about how and when to greet someone, American or otherwise.
-Kae-
I'm not really sure why we try to keep celebrating anyway, why we go to the trouble of keeping at least one or two small traditions. Maybe it's because we like to have a reason to celebrate, to laugh, to eat good food, to do something out of the ordinary...to remember where we came from. So, we dye our food green on St. Patrick's Day, eat turkey-that-is-really-chicken for Thanksgiving, and for the Fourth, I'm wearing red, white, and blue.
Yeah, it's a small thing. We don't have fireworks, or hamburgers, or a big gathering of friends and family, but it's as good a day as ever to thank God for giving us the chance to live in country that despite it's many flaws has given us the great freedom to worship God. It's as good a day as ever to celebrate my heritage. I've moved around a lot, and there are many different cultures and people that claim parts of my heart, but today I'm reminded that I'm an American.
Honestly, the thought of being an American is an interesting one to me, as I usually spend most of my time here trying to figure out how to NOT be American. I try to pick up on mannerisms, ways of thinking, and phrases that don't really fit here (and get rid of them). I try to learn what to do, how to do it, and how to say it as if I were born here. It's a laughable endeavor because I will never succeed in so short a time, but it's definitely worth working towards.
Today my toes remind me of the culture I am from, the family I'm going back to, and a way of life that is not the one I'm living now. I'm thinking of how easy it is to speak English. How easy it is to interact with people without even vaguely wondering if I'm accidentally offending, or doing something culturally inappropriate. How easy it is to be a light in a country that won't persecute you; the freedom we Christians have.
But I also remember home. The real HOME. The one that is made of all cultures and really the only one that matters, Jesus culture. The one where freedom is perfect, love is infinite, and people are united. The one where I won't have to think hard about how and when to greet someone, American or otherwise.
-Kae-
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