I sit down to write this article and glance at my calendar: Twelve more days till we see each other again. Twenty-two more days till we say “I do.” This past year of being 4,500 kilometers away from the man I love has been anything but easy. I never realized the power of physical contact …
“South Africa is really a country?” I resisted the urge to sigh in frustration as I explained once again that yes, South Africa is a country, not a region of Africa. “Wow, I had no idea,” the lady said after I finished. This was just one of many interactions I’ve had with people in my …
Misunderstood: Use Your Differentness to Love Others Better Read More »
And then there are the little things, such as a thoughtless comment about the pronunciation of the “r” that hits us where we are most vulnerable. It hurts us, despite not being a big deal…
If there is one thing that still binds people into groups of “Us” and “Them,” it is culture. Culture is oftentimes the heart of a people.
I dance around and around. I do a handstand. I stand on a chair. I jump off a chair. I make a paper airplane coated with love poetry and send it sailing. I recite Browning’s How Do I Love Thee? loudly…
It took time to wrap my mind around that one. Doesn’t everyone else have nightmares at least once a week about getting a huge pile of letters but not being able to read them?
At that moment, you realize you’re torn. You feel their unease because you’ve been there. You know you should reach out. But there’s another part of you that hesitates. You’re comfortable. You’re occupied. You’ve got friends…
God grants us His grace to not only sustain us and enable us to journey well but for us to also extend that grace to others. Grace lights us up so that we can be the light of the world and share His love with even the most undeserving.
As TCKs, we have a unique advantage for reaching out to foreigners. We know what it’s like to be a cultural misfit, to not quite fit in anywhere. God has given us the incredible gift of understanding what it’s like to be a sojourner. Likewise, He can develop in us the gift of compassion.
For the longest time, I thought I was alone in my TCK struggles. (Back then, I didn’t even have a name for it.) Over the last few years, I have discovered that this is far from the truth.
