Emphasis Preaching Journal

Jenna was taking French immersion and doing very well, her grades were near the top of her class. She confidently signed up for an exchange program that would see her spend half the school year in France, living with people who knew no English, going to school with French students. Jenna believed that she would have no problem.

When Jenna arrived in France, she soon discovered that textbook French is not the language of the street. Idioms, slang, and dialect confused her. The rapidity of speech left her struggling to catch up. By the end of the second day, Jenna was ready to come home. She called her teacher who advised her to relax, to let the language surround her, to listen to the rhythm of the language, and not to think so much.

Jenna tried. It was still hard. But as she relaxed, as she thought more about the situations she was in rather than the words she chose, she found that she was doing it -- she was responding like a native French person.

By the time Jenna came home, she could confidently say, "I am bilingual."

And to think, when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost, they spoke the languages of the nations with ease -- without one single lesson!