anyone can play the tourist, taking a hundred and one snaps of well-known landmarks, marking them “been there, done that!” with great (self) satisfaction. as we live through adventures and ordeals in a country far away, and sometimes, so strangely different from home, we are still confident this was God’s direction for us as a family.
our passports bear a certain date when we must say goodbye to our temporary home. while we post the hundred and one snaps of well-known landmarks here, we carry the burden of homesickness. it is the burden that transforms when you travel back to where you started. and becomes the burden of having seen the world.
travelling can be wearisome. the constant motion throws us into a frenzy, agitation, disorentation. we rub our sore shoulders from having packed too much. we check the map twice over to make sure we know when and where to step aboard or disembark. while we are at it, throw in the confusion of foreign currency, chatter and customs.
though chaos and confusion reign in the world, He is with us. these past few days have especially reminded us that we have looked down far too often. focusing on the ground leads to feeling despondent and defeated. we get bullied into fear. we clutch onto whatifs and our ways of untangling difficult situations. look up! nothing is as hopeless and dreary as it seems.
[post title from book read lately - max lucado's traveling light; photo swept with sepia magic on picnik; christmas lights in the Grand Central Terminal, and bonus! a fun video of frozen grand central , New York City, January 2009]
