Loving Germans

In order that you don't think I spend all my days in Germany fighting in the shower and banging my chin, I thought it was time to give you a more serious glimpse into what's been going on in my heart. I actually had quite the convicting morning in church last Sunday.

A couple of things had happened last week that somewhat irked me and made me really annoyed at Germans. Nothing serious, but I just kept having run-ins where I felt I was treated unfairly or someone came across as rude or impatient for things I couldn't help. Of course, the fact that I lived the last 9 years with "MN nice" and 19 years before that in "Austria nice" (pretty much the same things as MN nice) doesn't improve the situation. Germans don't do that fake nice in the slightest. They'll tell you to your face that you've gained a pound or have bags under your eyes today or parked your car slightly too far to the right or didn't remove your glass from the counter fast enough.

So, Sunday morning was the first time I finally made it to the local German church I'd been wanting to visit since I arrived. The first song was in English, and it was great for preparing me to come into the presence of the Lord and worship with those around me. But then we moved into a German song, and words kind of fail to describe this moment. I've always said English was my heart language since I learned it first as a kid and since it's the language I can pray in more easily, yet there was something about singing a praise song in German that moved me deeply. The screen background was a moving video of the clouds breaking open to reveal a mountain range, and that pushed me over the edge. It was like the clouds were lifted from my eyes again to see how much love and passion God has for the German-speaking people of the world, warts and all. In seeing his love for them, my own heart was filled again. My whole outlook on my interactions this week have been amazingly different so far, and I praise God for the opportunity to work among this people group!