By all accounts, Richard and Cynthia Murphy were living the American dream in suburban Montclair, New Jersey. They and their two daughters had been residing for twenty years in a two-story colonial home that backed up to a wildlife preserve.

According to their neighbors, Richard and Cynthia lived nondescript, ordinary vanilla lives; Cynthia working as a financial consultant in New York City and Richard serving the family as a stay at home dad.

But the real truth about the Murphy’s came crashing through the fake veneer they had so carefully maintained when, on June 27, 2010, dozens of FBI agents raided their home and arrested Richard and Cynthia as Russian spies who used their adjoining wildlife preserve to rendezvous with their Russian handler. Their cover had been so complete that even their children had no idea who their parents really were.

Think of it, for twenty years, Richard and Cynthia lived as Americans. They spoke perfect English, even when alone in their home. They lived in an American suburb. Watched television in their American home. Ate American food. Shopped American stores. Had American friends. Attended American parties. Worked an American job. Paid American taxes.

They were Americans in every way, except that they were not at all. Deep down inside, they were Russians and their one connection to Russia through all those years was their secret meetings behind their home in the wildlife preserve with their handler.

Like Richard and Cynthia, I am a citizen of another country. No, I am not a spy and I intend America no harm. Just the opposite. Call me instead a Christian sojourner. I am American in every way just as any other American is, except, like Richard and Cynthia, I am not at all.

I am a citizen of Heaven, a real place that is described in detail in the Bible, including a vivid portrait of Jesus Christ himself as he reigns there right now (Revelation 1). Heaven is the origin of my spiritual birth and, through faith in Jesus, I know it is my ultimate destiny.

Fortunately, my sojourn here on earth — so often invaded by all the tinsel and clanging of American culture — “backs up” to a quiet, solitary reserve that provides a place for me to rendezvous with God.

That quiet, solitary place for me is meditation on God’s word and prayer. That place is where I remember who I really am, what I am here for, and where I am destined to go. Prayer is, in this context, a subversive act that removes the clutter of this earthly life and clarifies once again who God is in all of his glory, what Jesus has done for me, how the Holy Spirit has indwelt and gifted me, and the glory that awaits me.

It is this daily secret rendezvous with God that keeps me going in a foreign country. Just God and me, alone.

Together.

This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.