Third Culture Thriving

At some point in our lives overseas, we all hit a point of exhaustion, and usually due to culture stress. They are often intertwined, even if they seem like they are separate things. Having an arsenal of coping strategies is incredibly important, and something that we should all be cultivating as we learn and grow in our roles in our host countries.

Today, I'm going to share what I feel are some of the most important / impactful coping mechanisms, things we should all learn about and implement when we can.

Today we're diving into one of the most requested topics for this show: tending to your marriage while living in a new culture.

I'm gonna just preface this entire thing with the necessary disclaimers: I am not a counselor or a professional in any way related to this field. I have been married for 12 years, attended a few marriage conferences, read a number of books, and had my share of marriage counseling. While this is obviously me speaking out of my own experience, it is experience that's been intentional and hard fought. Yet- it is still mine.

What do you do, if you feel like you're a bad missionary? (or insert your label here!)

If this is you, or has ever been you, I want you to close your eyes for a minute and picture yourself in a cozy little cafe, curled up in your favorite sweater, drinking your favorite hot beverage, sitting across from me. I see your heart, and I hear how much you are hurting. I ache for you as you share the guilt and embarrassment you feel, or the questions you have in your heart. Let's talk it out

Friends, as you move through this life overseas, you need all the community you can get. I pray that as you build relationships and flesh out what community would look like for you, that you would be blessed with people you can walk alongside, encourage, share burdens with, and celebrate with. Maybe the cohort idea will be a tool to you- I hope that it is!

It's the hallmark phrase after a mission trip. "Meeting this person changed me." "Seeing the other side of the world made me reexamine my life." Or "I can't think about this or see this the same way again" You've felt it. I've felt it.

I think it hits another level for us as we live overseas long-term. When we make our homes in another country, and we become with another culture, it gives us a perspective shift. We don't see things the same way. It's good. Beautiful. Necessary. Holy. And really hard.

The events and milestones I miss in the lives of family and friends The opportunities I know I might not get The community that moves on The parents that age while we are away The resources we could have access to The friends my kids could've had The vibrant church community we are missing The celebrations we could've had The friends we could've done life with

Friends, it's heavy. Saying yes to a life overseas means knowing that there's a life we could've had, that we are missing out on.

It's been a few months since we had regular episodes, so today we're looking ahead to what season 3 will hold, updating on life a little, answering listener/follower questions, and briefly discussing pandemic travel at the end. Thanks for listening, so excited for this season!