Culture shock is a reality that movers have to face whether they move across town, across the country, or around the world. While adjusting to a new community, it’s tempting to play the compare and contrast game. “My old church did that this way, and it was so much more effective!” “My old grocery store had lower prices and more to choose from.” “The ladies in the PTA back home were friendlier.” No matter how you felt about your old home, there will be times when the grass seemed to be greener there.
Opening my first carton of eggs in a Dutch market was such an experience for me. Instead of finding pretty white eggs, polished to perfection and stamped with the USDA seal of approval, I found eggs covered with feathers and “stuff.” My husband laughed at me. “You didn’t think eggs come out of chickens clean, did you?” I’m a city girl, I did, and that’s how I wanted to find my eggs at the store.
But God doesn’t want us to compare and contrast. He wants us to be joyful in our present circumstance. If we pray continually, He’ll fill our heart with His joy. We may have to make a few adjustments along the way, like learning to wash our own eggs, but there will always be something to be thankful for. Nobody makes chocolates, cheeses, and bread like the Dutch!
Lord, thank You for helping me adjust to each new place as You move me from home to home. Help me to ignore the frustrations while joyfully discovering great treasures. Thank You for each new circumstance of my unpredictable life. Amen.
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