The Bible (Romans 11) talks of us getting grafted into His family as Gentiles and Paul speaks of it as a great mystery. Over the course of last year, 2011, I experienced a number of moments when I feel like I turned a page over in reading this great mystery. Surely I have much to read but I feel that two experiences in particular have given me experiential insight into this mystery of being grafted into God's family.
Grafted into another culture
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| LOL with Gloria from Mexico on left, Rixy and Evelyn from El Salvador |
We are all laughing hysterically at a very funny video on Youtube. I look at that photo and am overcome with a strong sense of belonging. Sometimes the last thing you "get" when you learn a culture are the jokes, the nuances of language, the play on words, the gist of a joke that depends on understanding the context. These three friends I have known and loved and been loved by since the early 1990's. From the outside, it's clear I "don't belong", but by God's grace, I have been accepted and "grafted into the Latin culture." What a gift God has given me as a missionary!
Grafted into a family: The Umana-Martinez family
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| New Year's Eve celebration with the Umana-Martinez and Umana-Anderson families |
As we sat down to eat our turkey dinner on New Year's Eve, I looked around the table and experienced a strong sense family. I have lived almost 30 years far away from my biological family and my roots. I realized that God has grafted me into my husband's family even though we are so different, speak different languages, have had such different upbringings, communicate so differently, etc. But as I looked around table, I knew I was accepted for who I am, faults and all. What a gift to enjoy belonging to a family!
Do you have an insight or blessing from 2011 you'd like to share with me? I'd love to hear it! click on "comments" below to post it!
