Thoughts Triggered by My Green Card
I’ve been in the U.S. for 81 days.
As a new immigrant, everything begins from scratch. There’s a lot to deal with when settling in. Like opening a bank account or credit card, setting up water, electricity, gas, and garbage accounts, finding schools for the kids, getting health insurance, and taking the driving test, to name a few. Often, due to unfamiliar surroundings and language barriers, coupled with the need to adapt to American procedures, rules, and slow pace, I find myself overwhelmed with anxiety. This anxiety comes from the pressure and uncertainty of handling immediate tasks. It feels endless; as soon as one thing is solved, another pops up.
After a simple devotional one morning, I reflected on what I could still be thankful for amid this anxiety. Instantly, I thought of my green card. Previously, an older Korean friend who has lived in Los Angeles for many years told me that many people in the U.S. have never obtained a legal long-term residency. Yet, I received my green card shortly after arriving. That’s truly something to be thankful for. I had forgotten about the significance of having a “status.” Compared to that, while the other tasks are annoying, challenging, and uncertain, they can be tackled one by one. The most critical problem has been solved, so why should I worry and be anxious? Why not take it slowly?
This led me to think about the identity issue from a faith perspective. In God’s eternal kingdom, I’ve also obtained a “green card.” This identity is crucial. Although there are injustices, ugliness, and suffering in the world, and my life is busy, difficult, and painful, the most important thing is that I have my heavenly identity. My eyes are easily blinded by tasks, making me often forget this identity of mine.
Fellow Christians, don’t forget, never forget, that we already have a new identity. There’s nothing left to fear in life. Nothing in this world is more important than this identity. We should be thankful, knowing the heavy cost behind it; we should also have joy and hope in the beautiful eternal kingdom we enter with this identity. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
For family and friends who have yet to believe, life in this world is so fleeting. We come with nothing and leave with nothing. To the world, humans are just travelers. Our end on earth is merely the start of something new in eternity. Depending on your identity, one way leads to heaven, the other to hell. Which identity do you want? Mark 8:36 says, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”