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Health & Fitness

A Foreigner's First Fourth of July

On October 10th 2012 my wife, two small children and I boarded a plane at O. R. Thambo - Johannesburg South Africa's international airport. We had in previous weeks sold the car, flogged a lot of our goods, packed a lot of our furniture for shipping, done a huge amount of paper work, moved into someone's house, put our dog in a crate so he could come, said goodbyes and this was it. A one way ticket to Massachusetts USA. 

It's been 10 months of firsts - including the most recent - our first Fourth of July. What a week it was! Firstly it was scorching hot with a humidity that clung like glue between by shirt and my skin! The heat alone is a thing to experience!

Anyway, one of the things I love about America is the sense of corporate hype and excitement, that tangible sense of unity. Whether its a brewing blizzard in winter, an attack during the Boston Marathon, Thanksgiving, or Fourth of July - everyone is in it! You get caught in a rip tide of patriotism - and I love it! It is a glorious phenomenon. 

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As we arrived we became part of a large church community and have been welcomed in so warmly - frequently even feeling celebrated by this new family. Its been wonderful - and surprising - considering the supposedly 'frosty' new-englander temperament. 

It seems as though people around us enjoy witnessing us experiencing our 'firsts' - whether its the blizzard, the heat, the beauty of fall and now the Fourth. While we block our ears as we stand alongside the fire-engine parade, and we settle in to watch the fireworks - we get the sense that people are observing us! To see our reaction and our expressions, watching our kids to see them jump and squeal with delight at the booming and beautiful fireworks! I guess for them to watch us makes something old and routine brand new again. It's like when we watch our baby suck a slice of lemon for the first time and we think back to try and remember how we felt when the sourness assaulted our taste buds for the first time. It brings a fresh appreciation to something that has been celebrated from a long time back.

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Its a great feeling being welcomed and carried along in the moment by people who cherish these values. Values and memories which are not our own yet, but in years to come will be. It makes me think of church life, and how there are always people embracing faith for the first time, no matter how old or young they may be. 

Oh to witness new believers sing a song of worship with tears in their eyes, as they marvel at the goodness and magnitude of an incredible God. To stand beside someone as they timidly but determinedly raise their hands in praise for the first time. To hear about the first time they prayed for someone aloud, to see the excitement in the victory of a prayer answered. To hold hands with them as they go through sorrow with a sense of Godly dignity, displaying the Glory of a King they have come to trust. 

In the final book of the Bible, Revelation, Jesus rebukes a church because they had forgotten their first love for Him. Their love had grown routine, a little stale. Perhaps, there was not the excitement that comes with the new life of new believers. Perhaps the church had grown introspective and no longer reached out or welcomed foreigners. Over time the entrance of new blood, new believers - the excitement of witnessing those 'firsts' keeps those who have been walking the path for years invigorated, recalling the emotion, the gratitude of years gone by. 

If you feel your love growing cold, if you are growing weary of doing good - find new believers, walk alongside them and celebrate with them as they encounter those incredible moments that you yourself experienced years ago! It's rejuvenating!

justdonlon

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