For Different Seasons Blow Different Winds

Sidney Ramella, 17, is the son of Vince and LaVonne Ramella, who recently completed service in Istog, Kosovo, with VMMissions. In their final two years of service, Sidney completed high school in the U.S.

Nearly seven years ago my family and I left our home in Phoenix, Arizona, and moved to Istog, Kosovo. I had just turned eleven. Now, as a high school graduate planning for the future, I have spent a good deal of time evaluating my past and how far I have come. As a third culture kid, I am often asked, “Do you ever wish that you hadn’t left? Wasn’t that hard? Do you feel like you missed out?” Personally, I struggled with these questions while I lived abroad. I would have nights when I would cry myself to sleep from feeling alone and imagining my childhood friends enjoying the unique moments of middle and high school together…moments I could never get back.

At the time I could not begin to see how warped my perspective of my life’s priorities had become. Bluntly put, living in another culture is not easy or simple, whether it is the lack of understanding of the people around you (emotionally, ideologically, linguistically, etc.), or accidentally offending someone or being offended because of cultural variations. Then add being a teenager trying to understand who you are…talk about culture-shock!

Blown
By Sid Ramella

The bitter wind nips at my fingers, my nose.
Maybe it’s a good thing…
This shifting in the wind.
For different seasons
Blow different winds.
Different seasons
Bring different opportunities.
As I read My Book,
The wind picks up:
Landing me on a brand new page.

At some point, I began to truly understand what it means to be a child of God. As people we like to identify and label things. That is good: it keeps order and gives structure to our plans and ideas. However, as I am sure many of us have at one point or another, I attempted to “over define” myself. Sure, I am an American, a TCK, a young adult, etc. But oftentimes it seems that we blot out our most important identification, our foundation: we are children of God. With this fact in mind, suddenly, the fact that I am a TCK no longer seems to weigh on me. I will encounter misunderstandings because of it, of course, but I have a greater purpose and longing that my heart seeks after. Do I still wish I had not left Arizona? No—without Kosovo, I would not be who I am today. Was it hard? Of course! Jesus tells us life will not be easy (John 15:18-19). Do I feel like I missed out? Not on the things that really mattered, no! I would not change a day of it, good or bad.

So, what about now? I am seventeen, a high school graduate. What can I do for the kingdom of God? I am learning to live a life for Christ, wherever I am, with whomever I find myself. God has removed the chains that bound me to my past and instead has used my past to point me ahead to my future. This fall, I will be attending Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, majoring in Pastoral Studies.