We almost missed our flight, but we made it! Our family finally made it to the other side of the “transition bridge.” The other side of the pond—the other side of the Atlantic Ocean now lies beneath our feet. We finally made it back to Europe!
The world of “counting camo” and deer spottin’ had been our “Land Between” for 18 months—eventually our “Land of Familiar.”
We left. Our family packed up our suitcases, pulled out our deep roots, confronted the barriers at our border, said our painful goodbyes, and lived the “Days of Lasts.”
We made it through! Our family survived!
It Hasn’t Ended Yet
Oddly enough, it hasn’t really ended.
Now, we find ourselves on a different “transition bridge.” We are living in the “Days of Firsts,” as we attempt to settle in and make a new “home” for our family in a foreign land.
We aren’t settled. Our family is still living out of suitcases.
Our family is still in transition. We are no longer there, but we aren’t completely here yet.
Every day, we are meeting new people, seeing new sights, hearing a new and foreign language, smelling new smells, and tasting new foods. Everything is new and unfamiliar.
Not Fully Here
We are reaching forward to our new life, our new home, our new country, but we aren’t quite there yet. We aren’t fully here.
Our family can’t speak the language, we don’t know the culture, and we haven’t met many people. We aren’t fully here—not yet.
Then, we look back, but we can no longer go back. Our life in America is no longer, but it’s not that faraway. I can see it off in the distance, and it’s still strangely within reach.
Still Within Reach
It’s within reach as we look back at memorable photos on our phones taken just a few weeks ago back in Pennsylvania. It’s within reach as we receive and send texts to dear friends “back there” on Whatsapp and Facebook. It’s within reach as we read again the goodbye cards that special friends wrote to us before we left. It’s within reach as we look at the small gifts that they gave us to remember them by. It’s within reach when we write thank you cards to mail back to those who gave our family gifts or brought us meals during those final days. It’s within reach when we compare our new life here with our old life there. It’s within reach as we “count camo” in Europe. (We are up to #13 in 23 days!)
It’s all still strangely within reach.
As a result, we find ourselves living once again in the “Land Between.”
I can picture myself on a bridge—another transition bridge linking the “Land of Familiar” and the “Land of Unknown.”
It’s all so strange. Our “Land Between” (Pennsylvania) became our “Land of Familiar,” and now, our “Land of Unknown” (Spain) now becomes another “Land Between.”
Get Used to It
It’s an unsettling feeling, but we better get used to it. We will be living here for a little while longer.
Here are some words from my last story, written over one year ago, “Transition—Living in the ‘Land Between’:
“One day, we will see, we will know, we will hear that this is the way and to walk in it. We will know that next step to take, and we will dare to step out . . . out of “The Land Between” and into the hopes and plans that we were made for.
Our dreams will be unleashed, and we will feel the breath of life and joy invade our souls again. We will one day leave “The Land Between,” until life’s journey brings us here again.
For now, I will be thankful for the quiet time and space of “The Land Between.” I will embrace it, not resist it. I will welcome it, and not rush through it.
I WILL SIT HERE AND DELIGHT IN THE PLEASURES OF “THE LAND BETWEEN.”
Already Back!
Interesting . . . our life’s journey has already brought us back here—back to the “Land Between.” We just left. How can we be here again . . . already?
Until I sit down, unpack my bags, and settle here in this new land, I will enjoy the journey. I will enjoy the “Land Between.” It’s strangely familiar, and I think I like it here.
–The Cultural Story-Weaver
LET’S WEAVE CULTURES!
Have you ever been in “The Land Between?” How did you feel living in this place of transition? How did you get through it? Did you resist it or embrace it? Share your story of “The Land Between.”
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures!” Write about them in the comment box below.
