A Journey Begins

I turned to my traveling companion as we made our way down the gangway, let out a deep breath, and said "this is it." After a half hour delay in our departure it was good to finally be boarding to get the "show on the road" as they say. We certainly are a "show". Six women, 650 lbs of checked luggage, the maximum allowed for carry on and 14,000 miles to go.

"See I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way, and to bring you to the place I have prepared" Exodus 23:20

One last phone call to our African counterpart, to hear her graciously say "don't worry, we are waiting for you, everything will be okay for you.." The responsibility has been daunting, in between dashings and deaths from other countries and cemeteries.

But then there is Him -

Meeting me in my anxious moments with a wink and a peak behind the eternal curtain into the land that has no clock ticking.

I was setting up an iPod playlist to motivate me past the melancholy state I was meddling in, and it was if I heard the voice of my departed friend from beyond speak through his peals of incredulous laughter - "God has never let you down before, do you think He is going to let you down now that you are embarking on something so significant for Him?"

I laughed to myself, cried recalling when the words had been said to me in person. It was the spring of 1995. Eleven years ago, when I had been commissioned to write a book of poetry and prose on a pilgrim's first trip to the Holy Land (Sunshine After Rain). Zola, thought it quite comical for a person who was living on a shoestring and a prayer, raising three small children to think God wouldn't come through. "You have more faith than most people I know, trust me on this God is not going to let you down."

As I got over my mood, self-doubt at my abilities to undertake such a project, I had to wonder if Zola (now with the Lord) was amused once again. Seeing the rest of the story, watching from a heavenly vantage point as plots thicken in the Middle East, war and rumors of war and seeing the "fig tree" in bloom.

"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. "

Matt 24:32-35

These six are giddy with excitement. Conscious of the length of our trip, awed by the responsibility that awaits us and eager to see all that He has in store. The surprises, the blessings, the burden, the humbling and the benefit that comes when you are willing to enter into the suffering of Christ and His world.

"There's a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world - the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church's part of that suffering. When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God's way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth." Colossians 1:24 The Message