Feelings

Probably the most frequent question we've had about our move is, "How do you feel about it?" There are a few variations - with some people asking "How do you feel about moving to the Middle East?" or "How do you feel about moving so far from family?" or "How do you feel about moving to a different culture?"

If you've known Cindy and I for any length of time, you know that we're pretty matter-of-fact about everything. That's just who we are. We're more "thinkers" than we are "feelers" and so when people ask us how we "feel" about the move, we don't always know how to respond. Mostly, we know that this is the opportunity that has been set before us, and we know that this is where we're being led, so we're going. Period. There just hasn't been a lot of "feeling" involved in the decision.

Having said all of that, I do want to point out that we're not completely robotic about the move and about our lives. Mostly, we feel excited about the move. We love traveling to new places, experiencing new things, and meeting new people. We're excited about the school, our apartment, and our new city. We're excited about new restaurants, new foods, and new activities. And while we've liked a lot about Lubbock, while we've met some great people at Westminster, and while we've enjoyed working with students, we're looking forward to heading somewhere new. We haven't met a lot of people at our age and stage of life in Lubbock, and so the past several years have been a little lonely for us. We’re looking forward to a change.

We also feel a little nervous about the move. We’re moving from a place where English is spoken to one where Arabic is spoken, and from a place where men and women are (mostly) equal to one where there is an acknowledged hierarchy. We’re moving from a place where status is earned to one where it is inherited, from a culture where change is valued to one where it is shunned. We’re moving from a culture that values the potential of the future to a society that values the traditions of the past, and from a society that values individual rights to one that prioritizes social harmony. So while we’ve tried to do our homework, we realize that we don’t truly understand the language, the customs, or the values of the people. We strive to be kind, courteous, hospitable, generous, and respectable in every situation – and we won’t know how to do that once we move. We won’t be able to understand everything, won't be able to make ourselves understood, or be able to control some of the situations that we get in. That makes us nervous.

But mostly, we feel blessed. We know that the Lord has provided for us financially – my salary package is great – in the States or anywhere in the world. We know that He has already begun to provide relationally – we have a dozen people who are “friends of friends” that we’re planning to connect with when we get over there. And we’re also being provided for spiritually – as we take our anxieties to Him and as we find places to be in community once we arrive.

So for those of you who’ve been trying to pry our “feelings” out of us…there they are. :)