Saying Goodbye...

No, we haven’t left yet. But, we are saying goodbye.

Our goodbyes officially started last May when we did something totally un-American: Daniel resigned from his lucrative job in order to spend all summer studying about linguistics and came back in the fall to study… the Bible at Oklahoma Christian. In some ways, living on one income has been difficult for us mostly because we have had it so easy financially the first two years of our marriage. This year has helped us say goodbye to the consumerism of America even more, though, because it has made us reevaluate our priorities. We have enough of everything we need. Sometimes, though, we don’t always get what we want. We’ve learned what Dave Ramsey calls the most unknown word in America: NO.

So, we’ve been saying goodbye. One day at a time. One choice at a time. One “no” at a time.

Sometimes, like all goodbyes, it isn’t easy. We struggle to let go of things we like and the things that make us comfortable. We struggle to know how much we even need to say goodbye to. What is good, and what do we need to toss out about this culture we live in?

We struggle to connect to the culture we are in, while at the same time trying to create a new culture in our home and marriage. We struggle at Christmas time when the joy of giving gifts to friends and family must be weighed with the financial  and ethical burden of spending on those who have so much already. We struggle to know where is the line between trusting God to meet our needs and what is just foolishness. We struggle. It’s hard. There are no easy answers.

We don’t know the future even if we think we have things all planned out. That has become more and more apparent in the last few months. So, we might not end up overseas. We might not end up where we would like to end up–working in Bible translation. But, even if we never physically leave America, I hope we keep saying goodbye to the American values that are neither Christian or values at all.

Saying goodbye isn’t really about leaving at all. It’s about learning WHOSE we are in the first place and WHERE we are going. We need to live out the faith we profess: We are aliens and strangers here. This, even Mighty America, is not our home. Our treasure is not here.

There will surely be more goodbyes to say. More choices to make. More hard questions to ask and answer. But, we will say, “Goodbye, America” one day at a time.

May we have the courage to live out the faith we profess. May we live like He is alive. And, like He is returning. May we live like this world isn’t our forever home. May we not look back and turn into salt.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.  Hebrews 11: 13-16