Culture Shock "Practical"
>> 8.09.2011
I realize I sort of slapped the common “Christian band-aid”
over an issue that can really affect a woman’s life: moving. I didn’t mean to do that at all! But as soon as I pushed the “publish” button
I thought I’d better follow- up with some practical suggestions to aid in the
“culture shock” transition time. Here are
5 {my mom} and I came up with:
1)
Acknowledge the hardship of transitioning to a
new location/ministry for what it is (number 3 stresser in anyone's life!) and be graceful towards yourself and others. Situational depression can be a very real
result of such a major transition in life.
In recognizing the hardship for what it is, you can aim to recognize
when your emotions may be affecting the way you are treating those closest to
you and the way they are behaving as well.
Be full of grace towards all in the family!
2) Use this time (that tends to be not as full
schedule-wise) to do something you’ve always wanted to do. Take a cake-decorating class or an exercise
class at a local gym. Spend more time
reading stories to the kids or playing outside.
Have more date nights or try out new recipes. Eat at local restaurants to learn more about
the people and community to which have been called to minister to and
alongside.
3)
Pray over church members by going through a
church directory. (This may also help
you learn names and faces!)
4)
Cultivate a new spiritual discipline that has
been lacking in your life.
5) Talk to your husband! This is an important one (and not one to
really go “last” in the list…). He needs
to know what’s going on inside of you to help give you more grace and to help
you in objectively looking at your emotions and responses while you go through
this time. As most of us marrieds
already know, communication is always
vital to a peaceful marriage and home.
Also, Just Moved! is a ministry I came to know about a few
years back through a Focus on the Family radio broadcast. Susan Miller, a woman who has moved over 14 times in her life {she might know a thing or two about it!} founded this ministry to
minister directly to the heart of the woman who has just relocated (for
whatever reason). Check out their
website if you feel you may need a little more help sorting things out in this
area or to aid in understanding those you are serving.
Let me know any tips YOU may have from your life experience on this: I sure could use all the help I can get! =)
2 comments:
We've moved over 20 times, most of those while we had kids, so we're definitely experienced in this one! Something we did this last move was to have the kids draw a map of their new town. They put on their house, their street, and the main streets in town. Then we added where their school was, the grocery store, post office, park, and any other landmarks they've already noticed. They had a lot of fun making these, and I think it helped them appreciate and "own" their new home! :)
I really like all of these ideas, but I especially like the fact that you put in there a couple of ideas that sound like just plain fun - trying out new things sounds like a wonderful idea! And I thought praying through the directory very practical - learning names and learning to love through prayer. Excellent:)
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