This is one of those heavier blogs, so I put a video at the bottom that captures how we entertained ourselves while in Madrid for a six hour layover.
“How is Romania?” It’s a simple question, yet extremely complex. It’s like passing a friend in the store and them asking, “How are you?” “Oh, I’m good.” Teenage daughter is entering a rebellious stage, business is slow, a relative recently passed away, and God feels distant, but I’m good.
Romania is good. Traveling from possibly one of the blackest locations on earth to one of the whitest—in regards to skin color—certainly brought some changes. Within one hour of landing in the Bucharest airport, I already wanted to come back to Romania in the future.
On the pot-hole free roads, we drove. We saw green hills that do what hills do. Buildings with character and picturesque construction. Areas set aside for parks. Water contained into lakes. If you like this view, though, don’t venture off the road. Every route is the scenic one, and while off the winding streets can be found sausages, cheeses, and more mystery meats, don’t venture to far off the road.
Peer through the window to see well-dressed, beautiful people strolling by shops that beckon the passersby to come and enjoy comfort, artistry, and ease. But don’t venture off the road.
A twenty-minute walk away is a lake surrounded by greenery, wheat fields, and serenity. Off the shore is a dock where children jump, swim to, and play. Don’t venture off the road.
Don’t get to close to the water’s edge unless you want to see the abundance of smelly, rotting, dead fish. Belly up. Lifeless. Don’t venture off the road unless you can handle the reality that the portrait world around is merely a shell. Underneath is an economic crisis causing a friend’s son to leave the country to make money for the family. Underneath are the lasting effects of corrupted leadership that took a country flourishing under communism into decades of floundering. Underneath is an overarching and understated dislike for the gypsies. A people group that is surrounded by so much wanting, yet are not wanted. Stay on the road. It’s much easier.
From the road’s perspective, I’ve got it together. Perspective gaining, mission serving, people impacting, cultural learning, life changing, and God pleasing. Oh please. As if we couldn’t deduce this ourselves, but Scripture tells us that “man’s heart is evil.” Underneath are desires for comfort, prejudices, and selfishness. Underneath is awareness that the images capture only the surface. Underneath my skin are dead fish.
“How is Romania?” Depends. “How are you?”
PS: Stopping here would be like ending the gospels with Christ’s crucifixion. He doesn’t stay dead. I’m not dead, but alive, because of him. My heart is slowly becoming more like His heart. I’m ok with not always being ok. In the end, reality and the truth are far more fulfilling than never venturing off the road.
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