new language

i thought about my friend sara learning german for her mission trip and my sister and brother-in-law learning spanish in chile. i thought about how strange it is to progress in those stages of understanding, stages of being able to be who you are in another language, say your opinions, express your feelings, to be in sync.

i thought that to be a citizen of another country is much the same. and i thought about how we are citizens of a heavenly country, and so we belong to a new culture. and it makes sense that we progress in stages to fit into that language and culture too. we grow in small and frustrating increments. some days we feel fluent and some days we feel out of place and defeated, but we keep growing, settling and learning. over time we live our lives in a new way, in a new culture. we are ourselves within the confines of perfection; we are who we have always been but new. our bodies and tongues and minds slowly sync in with the native people of a world of full-strength beauty and full-strength peace and justice and joy. that's what this life is; a transition from speaking lies to truth, a shift from being shadows to being citizens of the day.