In today’s world, I believe I am an oddity. It was not odd one hundred years ago for a person to live their whole life in a close parameter of their place of birth but it is much more unusual in our day and age, yet I live within 40 miles of my birth place and always have. I have traveled over much of the United States in my life and have seen beautiful vistas and lovely places! A few years back I spent a couple of weeks in Germany, a beautiful country. Recently had  the blessing of spending ten days in Israel and seeing a bit of Vienna in the travel process. I have enjoyed seeing many beautiful sights but have never felt a pull or drawing to any place other than the area in which I grew up! Though there is a beautiful world out there to explore, the only place that has ever felt like home and held my heart was Georgia and the hope of my Heavenly home to come.

This recent trip was different. I have had a life-long desire to see Israel and this fall the desire became a reality. I have spent years longing to see the land of the Bible, where Jesus walked, the land of Abraham, Moses; to get an idea of the culture and land where men and women of great faith resided. I was not prepared for the depth of emotion or the great love for this land that the trip would stir within me. I missed my family and longed to see them and share this experience with them; I was not prepared for the depth of desire to remain there or the pull to return again.

I have searched my heart to attempt to answer the mystery of why this journey had such an unexpected effect on me. I have discussed it at length with my husband who also feels this same magnetism. We have many theories of what contributes to the tugging at our heart but no tangible conclusion. Perhaps it is one of life’s mysteries that we are not meant to understand or possibly we haven’t processed fully what we have experienced. Could it be that the timing is just not right for us to understand? Could it have to do with God choosing Jerusalem as His chosen city or that a land a little smaller than our state of Florida seems to catch the world’s attention and many countries attempt to determine what they do about Israel? Is it the convergence of many faiths in close proximity, the hospitality and acceptance of the people? Maybe it isn’t really important to understand or define, maybe the point is more about experiencing the land, the people, and God in the land! Maybe the real treasure is more than walking where Jesus, the Disciples and Patriarchs walked and experiencing the Bible in the actual land of Promise. Could it be more than  learning about the our Savior and His Jewish roots and seeing the Word of God in a whole new light? Perhaps it is seeing a people group who has been scattered world-wide come back together in the nation God promised them and watch prophecy fulfilled before our eyes… I am betting it is all of this and so much more. It was a life changing and a trip of a lifetime and the only thing I can say for sure is that I highly recommend the trip and I hope to return at least a few more times if the Lord wills and should He tarry in His return!! It is a trip that taken for the right reason and with great guides will most assuredly change your life forever!!!