I arrived in Amman, Jordan on August 2nd to be welcomed immediately by the 100 degree heat that I am now after two weeks here beginning to accept as reality. I was told there is a normal way things happen when a person moves overseas...the Honeymoon Phase as it is called is in the beginning where you feel excitement for new things and the adventure you are embarking upon. The first couple months everything is new and a whirlwind so it seems like a type of "high" if you will. Then it is said that anywhere between 4 and 6 months normally you come down off that high and the homesickness begins to set in. Where you feel like you just do not like anything about the culture you have been living in, and then eventually you will even out to a comfortable balance. I have been here 10 days and I have been wondering...what happened to the Honeymoon Phase?....this is not how I was told it would be...I find myself missing everything and everyone so much since I have been here...but maybe I will be doing this whole overseas thing in reverse...experience the homesickness first..and my honeymoon phase will come later :) Something I had to remind myself of in the past couple days is that God does not promise us an easy life or even a honeymoon phase, He promises to never leave us or forsake us. He promises to lift us up on wings as eagles when we are weary, and he asks us not to be anxious and stressed, but to present these things to Him in prayer and allow Him to take it on and make our burdens light.
These first couple weeks have been very stretching for me already. As one of my co-workers has said, "Moving to the other side of the world alone is no small thing!" I am realizing it takes more than the willingness to go, although that is the first step, it takes complete trust in the Lord to be my strength and comfort. This endeavor has already turned me completely upside down when it comes to who I knew myself to be. But now I sit in a new place, with new people, new rules and laws, new culture, new ways of doing things...and I realize we can get lost so quickly in whatever setting we are in if we do not know who we are in Christ first and foremost and live based on this identity in Him. So it is through that lens that I am excited for the hard times and challenges ahead..and even more excited for my anticipated future Honeymoon Phase whenever it decides to show up :-)
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This is a really good post! I've already surpassed the honeymoon stage and I'm back to reality. It is nice to have something to do, like school.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the time I feel that we get comfortable in our own culture and get used to the lows so much that it doesn't bother us. However, when we get thrown into a different culture, where things are unknown, the lows bother us even more. That's when we see how strong our faith is.
I really enjoyed reading this. :) Keep up the good, entertaining writing!