Culture Clash

I am stuck.

Across the street live these incredibly sweet children. As soon as my hubby or I drive into our driveway, they run as fast as their legs will carry them to greet us, bubbling over with smiles and excitement that we have come home. It's precious. I admit I'm tempted to secretly videotape it and play it back for my own kids one day when I don't get the same greeting from them. :)

On the other hand, I am incredibly frustrated. These same sweet children have learned, in sum, about 15 English words, and even less of the American culture. I have spent the past week trying my best to keep composure while reminding them (over and over again) that 1) they are only allowed to come over when we are home, 2) they cannot simply open my front door, but must knock first, 3) they must ask before playing with E's toys, 4) they cannot drag our lab around the yard by his collar or feed him his food from their hands...you get the picture. They are at my house, in my space, which means they should play by my rules, right? Problem is, I simply can't figure out how often they are disobeying me and how often they simply don't understand my directives.

The bigger problem is that I am not doing a good job being Jesus to this family. The culture clash between this family across the street and our White-colored, Christian-minded, American-raised, Middle-class, Southern-traditioned family is about as opposite as it can possibly be.

Below all these surface-level differences, though, is a sin issue. I love my house, E's toys, my dog, my space, my evening time.......myself(!), more than I am loving them. In Matthew, Jesus tells the Pharisees that loving God with your whole heart, soul and mind and loving your neighbor as yourself are the two most important commandments. Through the prophet Hosea, God tells Israel that he "desires steadfast love and not (ritualistic) sacrifices." In the grand scheme of things, the God I serve would receive more glory and honor by my intentional love for these "uncultured" kids than he would by my dinnertime prayer. John Piper is much more brazen, but hits the heart issue directly:

"Woe to us if we get our satisfaction from the food in the kitchen and the TV in the den and the sex in the bedroom with an occasional tribute to the cement blocks in the basement! God wills to be displayed and known and loved and cherished and worshiped."

In the Mountains

L and I took E to meet my parents yesterday, so she could spend the week with them. This is her first time going on "vacation" with my parents - they are camping in the Smoky Mountains, and we don't have big travel plans that would necessitate her stay with them. It's simply "for fun."

I am so blessed to have the parents that I have - among many other amazing qualities, they shower E with love and attention, and provide what I can honestly refer to as "holy inconsistency" - meaning that they throw routine out the window and teach her how to adapt to crazy schedules that don't always allow for 8am breakfast, 12noon lunch, 1pm naptime, and 6pm dinner. The mom in me needs a plan to feel productive, yet I love that Nana and PopPop expose E to flexibility in their own loving, non-stressful way. I am always amazed at the genuine joy she has in the midst of this "chaos." Reminds me of the example Jesus gave in Matthew when He told His disciples that, "Unless you become like this little child, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." The inconsistency comes not in our God, Who is the same yesterday, today and forever, but in our circumstances. How incredible it is that E trusts resolutely that her Nana and PopPop have only her best interests in mind, even if at times it's not her normal routine. All she knows is that they are good, and she trusts that.

Backpedal to Matthew for a moment, where Jesus reminded us that, "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!"

E playing in the "WATER!" - a creek that runs through the campground they are staying in. Despite the cold (the river fluctuates between 64 and 69 degrees during the summer), it's apparently her favorite place to be. And so begins what is certain to be a summer tradition with Nana and PopPop!