I have been asked whether our stay in Spain was worth all the trouble. It's a valid question; one that I have asked myself many times over. We gave up so much to come here:
- Comfortable home, recently renovated
- Church of 20 years, which we helped to build
- Friends
- Family
- Good job
- Predictable life (mostly)
- Cookout milkshakes
- Chick-Fil-A, home of the blessed chicken
After one year of living in another culture, however, I can say unequivocally, emphatically, that yes it was worth it. What we all discovered is that we did not give up many of the things on my list. Some, obviously, are deferred, but others stayed with us the whole time. Our friendships and family ties deepened with the distance. What is more, we developed some real relationships in Spain that we expect to nurture well into the future.
We have made a deposit into our daughters that will accrue interest for the rest of their lives. Opportunities have opened up, even now, for them to follow their passions in ways they never knew were possible before living in another culture. They are no longer shackled by language, nationality or cultural ignorance.
The question I now ask myself is how can I bring this ethos back home with me? Nothing is more annoying than to hear an ex-expat say how much better everything is over there. My friends have chided me about it a time or two. The comparisons are inevitable, but they are superficial. Debating about who has the best cheese is not what matters. Opening people's minds to the possibility that other cultures are valid, good, even desirable, is the goal I am pursuing. Someone once said that one third of the people in the world eat with forks and call themselves civilized. One third eats with chopsticks and call themselves civilized. One third eats with their hands and call themselves civilized. Perhaps we need to listen to what people say about themselves, instead of forcing our own arbitrary labels upon them.
I have no idea where God will lead me next, beyond the fact that it will be Hartsville, South Carolina. I do know that whatever does happens will be informed by whatever has already transpired, and for that my heart is full.
