A celebration far away

October 19^th was always one of my favorite days of the year when I was growing up in Panama.  This is the day my hometown celebrates its founding.  It’s a day of “fiesta” in the streets.  In the humid heat of the tropics, the people of Chitré, dress in their casual best, head to Downtown and stroll around the blocked off roads, greeting friends and acquaintances who share the same love and pride for the town known as the “City that Grows on Its Own.” 

Pedestrians walk about the multitude of vendors who offer an eclectic variety of trinkets.  You can find anything from funny hats, key chains, noise makers and plastic toys to candy, glow-in-the-dark sticks, fans and batteries.  There is also food of all kinds, including but not limited to classic dishes of Hispanic cuisine like “arroz con pollo,” “empanaditas,” “carne en palito,” “ensalada de papa,” and other delicacies like “ceviche” y “churros,” which you can wash down with any kind of beverage imaginable. 

The main event is, however, a grand parade filled with floats depicting typical scenes of every day life in small-town Panama.  Many of these floats reflect the well-known good humor of the people born and raised in Chitré.   Many others proudly serve as royal carriages for different beauty queens and their courts.  And yet, others are put together by the businesses that are the engine that keeps the town moving ahead.  Intertwined among the floats, gorgeous horses of the finest breeds show off their elegant walking gaits and ambling graces while ridden by their stoic owners showcasing their fancy saddles and other adornments.    I wish I had pictures.  I realize today, that I have not one photograph of these events.  What an oversight!  Perhaps it was due to the fact that I never thought I would spend 17 years and counting without participating in the festivities of Chitré’s founding day. 

I sure never imagined back then, while immersed in the celebration and captivated by the parades, that years from then, I would be sitting at a computer reminiscing and just plain-ole-missing all that goes on at founding day in Chitré.  But the Lord had other plans for my life.  He took me out of my country of origin, away from my people and my father’s household and brought me into this land that He showed me.  He brought me into the land of the free, where the brave lives.  He made me the adoptive daughter of this great nation where I’ve learned to endure, to have resolve, to never surrender my values and principles, to strive and to always side with the truth. 

With the call, also came a promise that He would bless me, and so He has.  He blesses me day in and day out with His presence and with the light of Jesus in my heart.  Thanks to the call I received the Light.  Otherwise I would still be walking in darkness, unaware of the truth and off the path that leads to righteousness. 

Of course I will always miss my past.  Of course I would want my sons to know their heritage.  Of course I get back to my hometown every chance I get.  But I have no regrets.  He called me to this place.  He blesses me every day.  He revealed and continues do reveal Himself to me here, and for that, I will have an eternity to thank Him.  I gladly pay the price of not enjoying festivities and street celebrations in my hometown, if I gain a lifetime by the hand of my Savior, and an eternity in His presence.  God has given me a love for this land that I never knew possible, and for that I praise Him.  This is my home.  Though adopted, I love this country as my own and I love all it represents. 

It’s October 19^th and I don’t get to take part of the celebrations of my hometown, but I get to witness one of the miracles of nature, which was not known to me back in Panama.  I get to experience fall.  I get to experience fall in one of the best places around to enjoy such display of God’s handiwork.  I know for some the tradeoff seems lacking; but for me, it is simply marvelous.  Praise the Lord for I know, “… that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Romans 8:28