20 Suitcases and 20 Camels – An Intro #1
20 Suitcases? 20 Camels? Let me explain.
20 Suitcases – although this is the name of my blog, it is also the first half of the name of my blog/book. Basically, 20 suitcases is what it takes for me and my family to get from here to there. Literally. Actually, it may be a few more if you count carseats and carry-ons, but you get the idea and it is as simple as that.
20 Camels… well, there is a bit more to that part. I have lived most of my married life in the Holy Land… specifically Jerusalem and the Bethlehem area. Three of my five children were born in Bethlehem, a stones throw from where Jesus was historically born. For some, to live in the Holy Land is the creme de la creme – the ULTIMATE experience – the DREAM of a life time. I have called this place home for a long time and it really does feel like home. That being said, it has never been easy to live here. Never. As I would read my Bible and as I lived where the Bible stories took place I began to take notice of other women who lived and traveled here. These women didn’t get on www.airplane.com and buy their tickets, drive to the airport, kiss their loved ones goodbye and sit in first class with a nice glass of Merlot and good e-book. No. Their travel was an incredible feat – phenomenally incredible. Most of my research noted that these women traveled in caravans. Caravans used camels – lot and lots of camels. I use suitcases and they used camels, thus the 20 camels. But, I noticed I had some things in common with these women. Consider the women who traveled in the Bible: Noah’s wife and daughter’s in law – on a boat for over a year. What about Abraham’s wife, Sarah? From Iraq to the Holy Land to Egypt and back. Rebecca and Rachel? Then there is all the Israelites who left Egypt and traveled the desert for 40 years. Ruth and Naomi and Mary, the mother of Jesus. These are just a few. My story is a little of each of their stories. Unfortunately, they are not all nice and holy stories. I am not holy. I strive to be holy but continually fail at it – fall flat on your face sort of failing. Life is hard and God has taught me many lessons as a result. God continues to teach me about himself and about myself along the way. Thankfully he is gentle, because I feel like there is a LOT of repetition on His part. Either way… here is a very true quote I read recently. “In no way is it enough to set out cheerfully with God on any venture of faith. You must also be willing to take your ideas of what the journey will be like and tear them into tiny pieces, for nothing on the itinerary will happen as you expect. Your guide will not keep to any beaten path. He will lead you through ways you would never have dreamed your eyes would see. He knows no fear, and He expects you to fear nothing while He is with you” (Streams in the Desert, April 16). This is my story and some of the lessons I have learned.
The first lesson I learned was traveling with Ruth and Naomi…