border-crossing

"i like geography best, he said, because your mountains and rivers know the secret. pay no attention to boundaries." - storypeople

the day after returning from the ukraine, this was in my inbox. perfect timing as i reflect on my time crossing boundaries. for those of you who don't know, slovakia (and most of central and western europe) lies within the schengen zone, which means that once inside, people can travel freely between countries without passports. however, ukraine lies outside the schengen zone, so there is a lot of security there, especially since slovakia only entered the schengen zone in december of 2007. as we crossed the border (and waited for inspections), i couldn't help but to reflect on the mexico-us border as well as other not-so-physical borders in my life.

crossing the border:
although it is easier to cross into ukraine than to cross out of it, the biggest difference that i noticed was a longer wait (and we got there at a "good" time) and a bit more inspection. it was a stereotypically cloudy, gray day, and the border guards were dressed in what i would consider stereotypical ussr-era clothing, especially with the hats (it is worth noting that rarely did i see a gun, and then it was a pistol, similar to those that most police in the states carry). the result was that we felt a bit like we were in one of the james bond movies that take place in the ussr.

we handed over our passports more times than i can remember and dick, who was driving the car, had to hand over his car documents. they checked under the hood and in the trunk multiple times. coming back they even checked ever-so-briefly our backpacks, which were in the trunk. we had to get out and show our faces to a person in one of the booths.

overall, it wasn't a big deal (especially since we were not (unlike most others) bringing things back across the border. things are cheaper in the ukraine, so many people go over to purchase everything from soda to vodka to cigarrettes), but it did take awhile and we had us passports, which probably made a difference, especially compared to ukrainians who require a special visa to enter the area.





this is a photo i took while we were in line. this is after the ukranian border, but the line is waiting to cross the slovak side.







literal reflections:
crossing this border gave me a lot to think about with respect to the borders that we have. the border reminds me a lot of the border with mexico, which i can cross with relative ease. since i am very obviously white, it is quite easy for me to get over the border, while people from mexico, guatemala, and other countries in central and south america have much more trouble. not only that, but united states citizens whose ancestry includes people from these countries have more trouble at the border (and even once they are in the country) than i do.

this is a sad fact that the united states, which exercises so much power in the world, will not hold true to what is written at the foot of that most beloved woman, the statue of liberty, "give me your tired, your boor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." we have such lofty and admirable ideals in our country, yet when it comes to practical application, we fall woefully short. i can not imagine what it would be like to wait at the border, with a sliver of hope for a future, for a life, and then to be denied the opportunity to cross it.

figurative reflections:
so, the theme of borders is a common one and we all have our own constructions of borders in our lives. whether it is a border between your innermost being and other people or between your innermost being and god. or any number of other borders. if, however, we operate off of the statement (found in 1 john 4:8 and 4:16) that "god is love," then, we must recognize our call as children of god and children of love.

we are called to love one another, which means taking down borders and barriers. it means getting rid of the barbed wire lining the frontier and letting people come to our borders and meeting them there to let them into our lives. we cannot construct borders to keep others out and expect to be let into the lives of others. our borders not only limit others, but they limit us as well.

i realize i'm not the best at letting people in, but i am going to work on that this year. letting people in past the borders i've constructed, making it a little bit easier for people to know me. maybe that just means being a little more honest with myself and others, or maybe it means being a bit more courageous and working a little harder for honest relationships with those around me. either way, my hope rests in god and in knowing that jesus came to cross borders (figuratively and literally) and so, too, am i called to cross borders in my life