I think the three things I would bring with me would be:
I have a picture of all of my kids and their families which I love.
I also would want my Bible because I read it every day.
I wear a cross which reminds me God is always near.
I am assuming if I were to go to another country to live I would not necessarily know the language making it impossible to explain what these items represent to me. The picture would be valuable to me because it has the faces of those I love the most and who may not been allowed to come with me to the same place because they are adults now. The thought of never seeing them again would be heart-breaking.
My Bible is with me when I am at home or go on vacation and I try to make sure to read it every day. I would be scared in a new country and not knowing how to communicate or even how to "be" and I find comfort in the familiar words of the Bible.
I wear a cross everyday because it is a symbol of the Christian life I lead and it helps me to remember that God is always close to me. Wearing the cross also lets other's know I am a Christian and will pray for and with them for their needs and hurts.
If I had to give two of these items up? The cross would be sad but it would be something I would be okay with. I would be torn between the Bible and the picture of my family. We are taught that God comes before all things so to keep the picture over the Bible would cause me great guilt. I love my kids and their families so much and to give the picture away and never see their faces again would break my heart.
The insights from this exercise where mainly about what my immigrant and refugee families must feel when they come to this country and into my classroom! To go into that would be a whole other blog. But insights about me.......? I found I really never looked at my family culture and I am not really sure what it is. I know that the Christian faith is strong in my parent's and sibling's lives but not so much in my own children's lives. I know that family and being together as often as life allows is also part of our family culture more than being with groups of people outside of our "clan". This activity shows me I really need to look into my family culture a little more deeply.
Hello Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI said I would also take pictures of my family, that is very important in my opinion when having to start over. I never thought about what my mom and her family had to leave behind before they came to the United States, it makes me feel some kind of sadness that they had to choose what they could and couldn't bring with them.
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI love the items you chose. The Bible is very important and is something I agree with you about taking if this was something we had to do. I also agree with the pictures I believe the pictures and memories is something that makes our history. Keep up the great work, you did a great job on the assignment.