By Josie Oldenburg — Twelve years ago, my husband and I moved to Ukraine. Two weeks ago, we moved back to Southern California. Packing up gave us the opportunity leave behind things that we shipped all the way to Ukraine that proved unhelpful, unnecessary or downright embarrassing.
Lined, colored and white. Plus an ample supply of three-ring binders to hold all of this paper. Evidently, we thought we wouldn’t be able to adjust to the slightly skinnier and taller A4-size paper available throughout Ukraine.
To be fair, my husband did use perhaps 10 pair of these. But it turns out you quickly get used to the sound of people chatting in the courtyard until 2 a.m. In fact, the persistent noise of the traffic and air conditioners in our new suburban neighborhood have proven more distracting than the occasional car alarm or midnight serenade that we heard in Ukraine.
I thought I’d learn the whole Russian language via flashcard. Imagine if you had to write down every word you said today on individual squares of cardstock. How many tiny squares would you need? This approach quickly turned cumbersome. Conversation with actual people was the more-efficient way to learn — not to mention that it helped me get over my next piece of unnecessary baggage.
My linguistic and cultural mistakes persisted until the very end of my time in Ukraine. Yet people still interacted with me. I suspect I gave them funny stories to tell, but I also showed a persistent interest in their culture and a desire to understand and be understood. I tried.
Oh, how I long to extend the grace that Ukrainians showed me to everyone in my own life. Child spills the milk for the third time this week? At least he’s making his own breakfast. Small group leader struggles to keep discussion relevant? At least she’s willing to serve.
All who believe are, in a sense, living cross-culturally. As we devote our lives to learning the language and culture of the Kingdom, we’re going to make mistakes along the way. As we move deeper into life with Christ, we’re going to look back and find that we’ve cast aside some embarrassing baggage. Thanks be to God that, with his help, we can leave those things behind.
