Apprehension

For historical purposes, I am going to blog about todays' events although I have no desire to talk or think about it. Today March 23rd, 2011 a bomb exploded in Jerusalem on a main road leaving Jerusalem leading to Tel Aviv. The explosion apparently came from a satchel that was tied to a pole and left unmanned. There was one death, a 60 year old woman and approximately 50 others were injured as a bus passed by the site at the time of the explosion. About 8 years ago, this would have been an everyday event, and something that would have gone under the radar, especially mine, however; under the circumstances I am quite aware of it.

It certainly comes at an unfortunate time, not that there is an appropriate time, but unfortunate as we leave for Israel on Friday. I know this region is fraught with fighting and power struggles and tension, that is part of everyday life in the Middle East, but it doesn't usually effect me personally, at least not directly. It just goes to underscore how isolated we are here in the U.S.A, how isolated I am. I can travel to and from work on a daily basis and not think about being attacked or injured because of another's hatred toward me or "my people". Is that good or bad? Some may say good, however in terms of having the biggest impact on others, I would say bad. The more comfortable you are, the less of an impact you will make.

This news has made me uncomfortable, it has caused me to think about the things that "could" happen in life. It has made me stop to think about how blessed I am with all that I have in terms of my freedom and comforts in life. But at the same time it has caused me to realize how much of a bubble I live in. I almost don't know or understand how the real world lives on a daily basis. I have forgotten about the struggle, strife, anguish, fear, violence, death, sickness, oppression that I witnessed when I traveled to Indonesia over 20 years ago. And here I am in bubblite Indiana worried about how I am going to get my homework done so I can relax.........

I know that God will protect us while we are on our trip, and should something happen while we are there, then I know as well... that I know God. I fully expect that our trip will be just fine that by the time we get there, we will not sense anything had even happened, the Israelite people are good at getting on with life. I will use this however, to remind myself that I need to stay aware of the struggle of life. I need to remind myself that there are people that need prayed for, people that need taken care of, children that have no home and no parents. The sick who have no one to offer them help. The elderly who have no-one to take care of them. What can I do about that? How can I make a difference so that I don't "grow up" unaffected by the real world?

Two scriptures come to mind: In Ecclesiastes 7:2 it says: "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart".

And Psalm 68:4-5 says: "Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him - his name is the LORD. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God is his holy dwelling". I need to remind myself that life ends in death, and you only get so much time before your time is up, so what I do with that time matters. I also need to remind myself that God cares for the sick, the homeless, the tired and weary; the fatherless, the widow, and the oppressed, and I should as well.

So......

The next time I have an opportunity................No I need to make opportunities................Both............. The next time I have an opportunity to help the oppressed, the sick, the tired, the widow, the sick, the helpless, I need to do something, not just make excuses about why I can't. AND I need to make opportunities for this to happen as well.

So all that to say, although the situation that has happened in Jerusalem isn't the most exciting news for me to hear right before we leave for the region, it is a wake up call for me on the homefront to make a difference here when I can. It also underscores for me that God is in control. I don't need to worry about tomorrow, God has everything under control.

So with that, I plan to make my next post from Israel with a happy and grateful heart that I have been given this blessing of an opportunity to go.

Talk to you then!