Journey to Israel

The adventures I've been having in Italy are now moving to another venue: Israel, the Holy Land.  Later today, Erin and I are flying to Tel Aviv, where we will meet up with the rest of our team (Vicki Teide, Gary and Sally Hibma, Ryan and Naomi Hill, Kathy Gallagher, and Jean Doeden's daughter and her friend).  Over the next nine days, we will travel to places we have read and heard about, studied, and wondered about.  It really is a dream come true trip of a lifetime.  

But I've been there before.  Twenty years ago, I was fortunate to travel to Israel with Nancy on a tour of the Holy Land.  I don't think I was in awe of that location then as I am now (why is it that as you age gracefully, you realize that you there is always more to learn?).  Perhaps twenty years makes a big difference.  

And the opportunity to travel there with one of my children is another plus.  My daughter Erin has always been connected to a vocation surrounding the church.  This trip of a lifetime gives her an opportunity to expand her understanding of Israel and the places she has heard about.  To be able to see the Holy Land through her eyes only adds to my anticipation for increase my own understanding of this precious area of land that holds so much history.

See, that's the thing I have grown to know about me: I am a lifelong learner.  I don't know enough.  I will never know enough (my wife Nancy will attest to that).  True, I may know a lot of things, but that should never stop me from learning more.  Maybe that is a key for all of us... somewhere along the adventure of life, we can get to a point where we believe we know all there is to know.  We stop learning. We get stuck in our own patterns and behaviors, without realizing that we can continue to grow intellectually, emotionally, spiritually.  

Perhaps we all could use a journey to a place that gives us that opportunity.  

So, I'm off to get ready for another great adventure!