Unexpected (Day 6)

I did not expect that it would take me so long to blog our trip to the Holy Land. We returned on January 31st, and my first post went up March 7th! 

I did not expect that shortly after I started blogging about world travel, the world would be up to its armpits in worry over a pandemic that has hit more than 180 countries and territories. 

I did not expect that I would see a pandemic of this proportion in my lifetime. Yes, the flu has killed more people than most single pandemics...but coronavirus has infected so many, including people in my country, my state, my town...this pandemic is relevant and it is changing my life. 

A host of unexpected things happen to us all in a lifetime, for sure. I suppose this is just one more to add to the list. So, rather than struggle with the fear of what could happen next, I will take it one day at a time. While I do, now is as good a time as any to show you some of the unexpected things we encountered on our vacation!

I did expect to see old buildings and learn many things that relate to the history of my Christian faith. 

I did not, however, expect to find new and exciting pine cones!

I expected to walk where Jesus walked, and to see many churches built on or near significant historical sights, like the Church of St. Peter.

I did not expect that we would be walking up and down so many steps to access the actual, original streets that Jesus trod upon, 

or the endless scaffolding needed for maintenance and restoration of these sights. (I should have expected it, if I had done my homework before the trip, but I just did not.)

I expected to feel like I was in a "high-church" setting in some places, that there would be candles and stained glass windows for light, pews to sit in, roped off areas and special altars to look at. 

I did not expect that so many of the church sites would be so ornately decorated...gaudy at times, even.

And I did not expect that I would be touched by the lighting of a candle and a simple prayer. 

I expected that I would visit the place where Jesus was born, or a traditional site, like the church of the Nativity.

I did not expect that I would stoop through "the eye of the needle" to enter that church,

or be hustled and bustled in a giant crowd down a curved and narrow staircase opening

to see a 14-point star atop the place that might be the ground upon which he was born.

I expected that I would see new sights, and old cities and friendly faces.

I did not expect that my heart would be so moved by seeing the teaching steps at the temple

or the mikvahs (ritual baths)

or by forging new friendships along the way!

I expected that this would be the trip of a lifetime, and it was! 

I did not expect that having been in Israel would have strengthened my faith so intensely. I mean, I have read my Bible...I read (or listen to) a portion of that book nearly every day. I know the stories, and I believe them. I believe that Jesus is the Lord, the Son of the Living God, and He is my Lord and Savior...this has been a truth for me for almost 25 years. But this trip, touching stones Jesus may have touched, walking streets he surely walked, seeing the places that he actually said those words...what is it the kids say? Mind. Blown.

Just like any history lesson, being there takes it from a thing I know in two dimensions to a 3-D, theater-in-the-round experience! The sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures enveloped us as we walked in the square of Jerusalem, through the streets of Cana, into the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem! 

And I didn't quite expect that. 

As we continue through the unexpected, here's a new way to look at this pandemic world:

Someday, you and I will have a story to tell about this year and these experiences. Our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will study this event in their history classes, and they will want to know what it was like to live through it. What will your story be?

Thanks for stopping by. As you write your story, I hope you will also Knit in Good Health (if you knit)! You can tell a story with yarn too, ya know!

Promises, Promises

Promises. So many promises. I have often rested on someone's promise, and I have often been let down. I have let others down, breaking my promises, because I am human. We all let each other down eventually, we really just cannot help it, because you and I are far from perfect.

But. I have never been let down by God. Not even once.

In the Bible, God promises that he will never leave us, nor forsake us. He promises that if we are tired, he will give us rest. God promises power to the weak and strength to the powerless. He promises peace, salvation and freedom from sin, and God promises us that nothing can separate us from his love!  

These are just a few of the promises, that strengthen my faith in this pandemic world. I have this hope as an anchor for my soul (Hebrews 6:19) that God cannot lie, and that his promises are for me!

Oh sure, sometimes I wonder that God could let people have their free will, and that he could allow evil in the world...I think we all struggle with that. Right now, I wrestle with the thought that God knows what is happening with COVID-19, and he is letting it happen. But he is still working through it, because of his promises, and I am humbled.

The biggest promise I ever made to a single person was in my marriage vows. I wish I could say that I have been faithful to every word of every vow I made on that day 33 years ago, but I have failed at times. It was so lovely to remember our vows anew when we were able to restate them anew in a simple service in Cana of Galilee.

Look, a new "wedding" photo!

The idea of promise was made new to me in Israel. The promise of two hearts to love and to cherish. The promises of God to never leave or forsake us. The promise of a Savior, known only to a few in the beginning...until the miracles started happening.

The promise of a child who would be born to a virgin, celebrated by the building of the Church of the Annunciation.

The promise of living water that would eternally slake a desert thirst, made to a Samaritan woman by a Jew who "knew all she ever did," marked by this church and Jacob's well.

The promise of water still resonates with people everywhere. Water is something we all need to live...literally. Unlike our needs for companionship, variety and independence (things we are all missing a bit more in the quarantine state of Stay-at-Home orders) water is a non-negotiable. I have plenty of water. In fact all my needs are met, and God's promises are still true, so I will work on complaining less. I promise.

He is a good, good Father, and even in a pandemic world, I can see God working through his people to keep his promises. People all around me are caring for the needs of the elderly, sharing prayers with one another, collecting food for local pantries and delivering lunches to students who cannot go to school right now. I see God keeping his promises every day, and we are blessed. I hope that you can see it, too.

Thanks for stopping by friends. Be well, keep your promises, and Knit in Good Health!

(Bible References: Hebrews 13:5, Matthew 11:28, Isaiah 40:29-31, John 14:27; Proverbs 1:33, John 3:16, Romans 10:9, Romans 8:37-39, Hebrews 6:19)

Quiet Weekend with Family

Not much going on this weekend at the Pretty house...just hanging out with family. You too? Glad to hear it! Oh...and I did finish a sweater!

As we accept the reality of living through a pandemic, more and more are meeting only in online forums, chat rooms and meeting spaces. Even my knitting group had a Zoom meeting on Thursday! While there is no substitute on the internet for a real, in-person, arms-wrapped-around-you-tight hug, I am thankful that we can interact face-to-face...kinda...just like the Brady Bunch.

Laughter is good for the soul, and sharing is how we all stay connected. So keep calling, texting, and video chatting until we can all hug each other again. 

What's that? You think I should share more about my Israel trip? Well, sure! No danger of contagion via the blog, so let's go! I believe we are on day 4, January 26, which was a Sunday. No church to go to, which I missed, but lots of great stops this day!

Our first stop was Magdala, the home of Mary Magdalene, and our guide took a back seat to a young woman from France who was guiding the tour at this stop. The really neat thing here is that this is the first stop where we were told, "Jesus was here." Not 3 levels down, on the original streets, or we think it was here but no one can really be sure...but "Jesus was here."

His feet were in at tiny synagogue (no mega-synagogues, just room-sized gathering places indoors), he read the scriptures and he taught here. This evoked feelings of wonder and awe, and a longing in my heart to know Jesus more! This was the theme of the day, and our next stops were the mount of Beatitudes...

...and the chapel of the primacy near the Sea of Galilee.

The water was calm, and we read the miracle of the loaves and fishes on the shore here. 

Plus I got a great photo to use at church. 

And while this is a traditional site, rather than historic, we know that Jesus lived and walked on these shores throughout his ministry. 

He taught and called out to his followers, he encouraged large catches of fish and fed thousands. It is humbling to look out at see these waters that Jesus once calmed in a storm.

Next it was on to Capernaum, a town we know Jesus spent a good deal of time in. 

The ruins of the homes, the synagogues and meeting places are preserved and visible, even when a church is built right above them!

This church is an 8-sided facility, built in the early 1990s on top of Peter's mother-in-law's house. 

In the first chapter of Mark, we see Jesus coming here after teaching with authority in the Synagogue and casting out an impure spirit from a man there. Upon arriving, he find's Peter's wife's mother is very ill with a fever, and Jesus heals her. She receives the healing touch of Jesus, and she immediately starts serving. Here. Right here. Mind blown. Also, houses were very small then. ;o)

After Capernaum, Tabgha...the traditional site which celebrates the miracle of loaves and fishes.

Then a group photo...

...while we waited for the boat...

...that took us across the Sea of Galilee (it took about an hour)...

...where we enjoyed a fisherman's lunch...

...which was super yummy!

After lunch, back to the River Jordan for those immersions we could not do a couple days earlier. I hear the water was cold, but I did not go in. Still, I got some photos!

I think my big take-away from this day is a more intense feeling of family in my faith. I am thankful for this trip and that I have walked where Jesus walked. I learned where Jesus taught, I ate what he ate in the places that he ate it. I lived and breathed the same air Jesus breathed as a man. Being there, seeing what he saw and doing what he did, connected me to Christ in a more powerful way than ever before...like visiting Italy would certainly tie me more into my Italian ancestors and ancestry. My spiritual family heritage has solid ties to these places in Israel.

I heard on the news yesterday (or was it the day before?) that Israel has been hit by COVID-19, as so many countries around the world have been. My recent travel, paired with knowing people online who live all over the world, helps me to appreciate our global community. Regardless of our faith or ethnic heritage, our humanity makes us family. 

If you are the praying type, please lift up our whole world.
If you are part of a community touched by COVID-19, please stay safe and stay home if you can.

If you are feeling isolated, please use that phone-a-friend option.

If you need to know Jesus, please ask me. 

Better yet, ask him. He is waiting for you.

Thanks for stopping by, friends! As you spend your down time away from people, may you also Knit in Good Health!