One foot (and part of our heart) in the States and the other foot (and the remainder of our heart) reaching for Mexico makes for fuzzy, fun and sometimes difficult living. We've already begun easing out of big ministry commitments at our home church, frequent supporting churches--and those that might be--and still remain busy with schooling at home, work, marriage and parenthood. "What church are we going to today?" is among the usual questions early Sunday morning. Old friends, new friends, laughter, out of state trips, letters, phone calls, dissapointment, frustration, joy and exhaustion. These are among the many things that make up our support raising experience. Sometimes it's almost like a surreal, Twilight Zone like, experience. At times Mexico is like a far away mirage in a desert (or a world far away) and sometimes it's so real we can taste it! The wonderful and strange and quite different characters in the Zone: the naysayers, the dreamers, the doubters, not-so-scary monsters, friends and lovers. Each play a God ordained role in the whole experience regardless of the emotions they might elicit.
The reality of life bites hard in this episode with sickness, plenty of uncertainty, and dear loved ones finding themselves far closer to death than life. Sometimes the only refuge is denial--a strong dose of denial. But then that Zone reality buzzes a bit too close to your face like a bee. The best you can do is swat it away and hope for a quick retreat back into denial. For a moment though you're overwhelmed (almost more than you can bear) by that ugly bee.
But even in the Zone there is a quiet place, a Safe Haven. Sometimes the Safe Haven is hard to find. But only sometimes. Most of the time you can get there with your eyes closed. You know the steps, you know the way, by heart. It's a place of utter truth and honesty. That is, deciet and self-deception aren't welcomed in the Haven. And far from being a respite from the Zone, the Haven is often a place of toil and labor. But often the toil and labor of the Haven provides relief from the Zone.The bees aren't as scary there.
Each scene passes, the 'characters' come and go and we edge closer to the end of our lives as we know it here in the States and the beginning of our lives in Latin America. We appreciate the lovers, dreamers, friends as well as the naysayers, not-so-scary monsters and doubters. The encouagement, kind words and reality checks give us moments for pause.
Another moment of pause: the Transitional Twilight Zone episode could very well continue in Mexico--only with Spanish subtitles!!!
