This reminds me so much of what I refer to as the mission bubble that I live in here in South Africa. We have no tv in the church provided flat, no radio in the mission provided car, no newspaper or news magazines delivered to the house- it's just how it's happened to be. In one way it has been really positive for our family - we talk a lot more, play games instead of watching tv, don't worry incessantly about world news, and don't read about the crime around us. As the world's culture continues to decline and evil continues to rise, we're not involved and many times not aware - my kids and I have no idea who the current media stars are, I haven't heard the latest releases in almost 2 years. I'm definitely not up on the current trends. Save what people post on FB and I see on time.com's newsletter, that's the only way I know what's going on. We don't see commercials, sporting events, reality tv shows. We have no idea what is going on in American politics other than the occasional headlines. Natural disasters have little staying power in our minds because we see them only as a headline - we don't watch the news report and see the drama unfold, so they almost don't seem real. This isolation that we find ourselves in was not chosen specifically - we have no funds to purchase a tv or install a radio. Our internet fees are so exorbitant that we cannot watch you tube videos often or go to websites and browse photos. When we're at other people's houses we all gravitate with an almost uncontrollable pull to the tv, newspaper, media of any sort in a desire to consume again. I spend way too much time on Facebook because it's my one connection to all of my far away friends and this world of media culture.
At first I worried how this would play out long term in our lives. When we were back in the U.S. for our annual trip home, I found myself craving media so much that at times I would rather watch it than be with people. How about my kids? When they get together at someone's house they are far more interested in the electronic toys than in playing with the kids. Yet I'd hate for them to be exposed to this all the time and have to be perpetually connected to an electronic device to function. I am so thankful that our South African school is not consumed with this media culture. You cannot bring your cellphone into school, there is no texting in the classroom, kids wear uniforms, not the latest sexiest trends. My kids don't feel the need to have an ipod permanently implanted in their ear and they don't live to send texts to their friends. I'm sure it's coming, but in a way, I feel like we live in a world of 5-10 years ago by U.S. standards.
This isolation exists with me in relation to South Africa as well in spite of the fact that I live in a very modern city. I don't understand the government or social structures, nor do I want to - there's too much corruption, violence, and stupidity going on to spend my time learning about it. Our interactions are limited to our church activities, mission projects and a small amount of school events and these consume our time. Our days are filled with the wonderful life of being surrounded by a spiritual environment unified in the desire to ignite the love of God and name of Jesus in the earth. This is the beautiful part of the bubble that makes it so desirable to live within. Even with all the poverty, inequity and dirtiness that surround me here, the absolute radiant beauty of Africa and its people, landscape and wildlife continue to gleam around me as the sun reflects off of my bubble. It's such a land of contrasts and extremes, so full of life and loss, overflowing with wealth and scarcity, and yet so fulfilling and exhausting at the same time. As I exist suspended between these two worlds - removed from American society and culture, yet not rooted into South Africa, it leaves me with a feeling of great isolation. Maybe this is what it means in Hebrews 11 to be a sojourner, admitting I am a stranger and foreigner on the earth.
As I accept my funky reality today, I can't help but look to the future to wonder what it holds. I know the media culture blitz will come soon enough. It just leaves me unsettled and uneasy and sometimes worried about the future- especially when we come back into the U.S. culture. But how will we deal with this? Will it come upon us like a tsunami wave where we cannot hold back the damage it leaves behind? Should we find ways to expose them to more of the media culture when we're at other people's houses? It's not like we could buy a tv (triple the price of U.S. costs), Wii, or afford unlimited internet access. God has clearly put us in this situation and I must trust that it's what is right for our family. While it feels safe and seems to afford some protection, at the same time I feel I should be training my children on what's out there and how to deal with it when it comes. For now, they read my Facebook account with me. I share with them what I read on the Plugged In Newsletter from Focus on the Family. We talk about what we see around us. And I pray and pray and pray with all that time that I used to spend watching tv. How are you teaching your children to deal with this media culture that all too readily awaits to consume our children? It's a scary world we live in and when that fear overtakes us we have to remember...
Psalm 56:4
In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
Isaiah 12:2
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense ; he has become my salvation.”
Jeremiah 51:46
Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land; one rumor comes this year, another the next, rumors of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler.
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation
Like astronaut Michael Collins, I find myself securely fastened in my protective space suit - watching what's going on in the American world below me - suspended in silence as it floats quietly on by. I chose to sign up for this mission. The powerful thrusters of my continental move have propelled me out of this familiar world and I can see it for all its beauties and atrocities more clearly now. I long to go back to it as I look at it from afar - to sit in its majestic mountains and walk in its comfortable forests; to smell of its unique and nostalgic scents, and taste of its satiating delights. My heart pounds as I consider the true risk of the position I occupy now. I am attached by a single umbilical cord connecting me to the spacecraft and all life as I know it. All I know and feel is bound up in the reliability of this suit. Will I trust it? Is it reliable? Will I be able to get back to earth? Will it be the same when I return? When I plant my feet on the firmness of the earth, will I look back into the heavens and feel like I do now - or will I long to live more closely among the stars and yearn for the familiar that is so far away? As I ponder these questions, the dawn approaches and the sun comes up with a fierce burst of piercing white light. As I turn to look at the sun I am reminded that wherever I am, its glorious light shines on my face, warms my soul and sustains my blessed life. And for now I can trust and journey onward to the unknown darkness that lies ahead.
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