Three Tips To Maintain Sanity While Being Globally Minded

This week I sent a letter to India, got an email update from China, read a blog post from a friend in Vancouver, got a call from my best friend in California, caught up with my cousin in Minnesota, heard from family back in Texas, missed out on my family's gathering in Nebraska, chatted with a friend on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles, facebooked friends in Dallas, and hung out with campers from West Virginia to Louisiana to Florida while being here in North Carolina.

The world in which we live is increasingly globalized. In many ways the globe has shrunk, but in other ways our perspectives have exploded to unprecedented breadth. We now have the opportunity to see into every country on the earth and make friends there. Personally, I struggle to keep it all in mind. 

I’ve been to a few other countries and have friends in a few more. In U.S. cities I’ve volunteered in a soup kitchen and worked in an upscale restaurant. Rich and poor, old and young, African, Asian, Australian, American and European. We live in an extremely diverse world, and these days you have the opportunity to experience much of it. My white, middle-class, suburban bubble was burst a long time ago.

If you  limit your view of the world, that’s okay. Not everyone needs to think of the whole picture, but I find a broad perspective to be extremely helpful for keeping me well-rounded in thought and habit. Understanding how other cultures use resources, maintain relationships and have fun helps me to find a better way to live myself. And keeping in touch with other parts of the world lets us know how to pray for them.

For those of us who have connections around the globe, seeking to maintain long-distance relationships can be overwhelming. But even if your friends and family are scattered around the planet, you don’t have to be unraveled trying to stay mindful of them.

Here are three tips I’ve found helpful for staying sane while being mindful of the world:

1.      Stay grounded in the Word. Nothing in my life brings me back to truth like reading the Bible every day. The Book is the one most consistent element of my day—besides being a habit, the truths contained in it keep me focused. If I didn’t read the Bible and have others to help me interpret it, I’d be a floundering mess of thoughts despairing of life itself. I’m grateful that we have the Word of God in hard copy, and I love reading it!

2.      Pick a point person from each location you love. You don’t have to keep up with everyone. Don’t try to. But if you want to stay connected to a place you’ve been, be sure you communicate regularly with at least one person from there. For me, this means emailing, facebooking, calling and skyping friends in a number of different locations periodically. I also like to travel to visit them in person, which is far better by far.

3.      Be present where you are. If you cannot enjoy where your body is physically present, you will go insane. Take pleasure in what surrounds you. Soak up a good conversation in a coffee shop or go for a run to mentally photography the landscape around you. If you’re a traveler like me, use social media to keep up with friends, but remember that there’s no time like the present for being with those closest to you in person. 

Relax. Life’s tough and we’re all learning how to best live it, but we can still enjoy being in all seasons. Relationships deepen and fade, but the Word of our Lord stands forever. "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way" (2 Thessalonians 3:16). 

Beginning Anew Again

New beginnings are never easy. They are full of unknowns, fears, learning, vulnerability, and a certain excitement in it all. I am in this process right now. Along with beginning my masters (Th.M) studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, this week I began a new job, moved to a new city, met new friends, and yes, even began a new blog. I’ve just undergone a whole-life overhaul, and many of you have experienced something of the same.

I even got a new Bible. My trusty old NIV Study Bible in its green and mesh cover no longer enters my day as the one familiar item from the past ten years. Even in India I had this comfort, the connection to my thoughts from years past. But thankfully God’s Word remains the same.

I began reading my new ESV Study Bible, turning pages to start in the book of Genesis:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

I opened up my new journal to try out a new commitment to studying the Bible rather than just reading it, and, writing out my observations, found a new truth I haven’t seen before, probably because I am in my own new beginning.

In the beginning the earth was “without form and void”—that’s what my life has felt like with no structure of habits, friends, etc. Up until this week it was all in the darkness. Deep darkness. I didn’t have a clue where I would work. I didn’t know what seminary would be like. I didn’t know anyone. I still don’t know where I’ll live.

But right there in the midst of the deep waters, the Spirit of God is present.

Even though new things in my new life are still taking form, God’s Spirit is there, guiding, protecting, providing, so that I do not have to worry. I never did have to worry, because God created me and loves me as His creation.

The story in Genesis gets even better in the next verse: God creates light. Metaphorically, I’m getting a glimpse of that now… light has been shed in my job search, and now I’m employed. I’m getting a feel for what seminary will be like. I’m learning my way around Dallas. But even more than knowledge of my life, I can walk in light from following Jesus the Christ. He says, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Now that’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout!

The light Jesus brings is life, and life abundant. At the end of the Bible, Jesus says, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Newness is not bad. It’s quite good, and it’s an opportunity for God to teach us, mold us and use us in ways we never could have imagined in our old lives.