Congratulations?

Hello everyone!  This is my (Steve's) first blog contributions to "The Long, Long Trailer."  I would like to take credit for some of the previous posts, but really all I can do is take credit for the title of our blog.  I would also like to apologize ahead of time for the rambling nature of my blogs.  Cali's always read so well thought out.  I wanted to share some thoughts periodically however about some of the encounters we have had here in Romania.

Sometimes when you meet new people you get many different responses... "God bless you!" "Chow!"  A "holy" kiss (both men and women).  But the one that threw me off the most--yes more than the kissing--was, "Congratulations."

Congratulations?  What were they congratulating me for?  For being from America!  Did I choose to be an American?  No, but we have on more than one occasion been stopped in our tracks by this strange greeting.  I did not earn this congratulatory greeting, but it was tossed my way anyway.

I don't know why but it just did not sit well with me.  I have been thinking about it for about a week now, and wanted to pass a couple thoughts your way.  Have you ever been given credit for something that maybe you cheated on or someone else poured their hard work into, but you took the credit anyways?  Have you ever thought about the responsibility that comes along with being associated with something much bigger than yourself?  When I thought about the implications of accepting a congratulatory greeting from the Romanians I encountered, I thought about both of these two questions.  I did not do anything to earn the right to be an American.  I was blessed to be born in a place where I could worship freely and God could grow me to be who I am today.  Of course, God could have done that anywhere so being from America really did not have any bearing on that outcome either.  But the second question was the one that troubled me the most.  You see, being from America in the eyes of these Romanians carries with it a certain expectation.  I think that the thought goes something like this...

Oh wow!  They are from America!  They must be perfectly content, have it all, be in perfect relationship with God because of how blessed they are,...


All I could think when I thought about this was what Matthew 19:24 said, "Again I tell you , it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."  I thought about how difficult it is for so many Americans (myself included) to be able to set aside the many American blessings and truly follow God.  Some of you reading this might be thinking, "whatever Steve, you are in Romania following God for goodness sake!"  But the reality is so many times throughout the day my heart is still in America.  I think that is why hearing a Romanian woman on a tram say 'congratulations' is such a hard pill to swallow.  I want to congratulate so many people here because of their perseverance through communism, for their ability to thank God over and over again when they have NOTHING, for their ability be overwhelmingly generous whenever an occasion allows them to show generosity to others.

So, when I hear good day, chow, get a kiss, or any of the other eccentric greetings, I think I will continue to return them happily.  And from now on, instead of looking blankly at someone when they say 'congratulations,' I think I will return that greeting happily and humbly back to them.