“There will be a day when the burdens of this place will be no more.”
Jeremy Camp
Today we went to Hebron and got to see the Tomb of the Patriarchs. Where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Leah were buried. We got to walk through the old city and the more modern day city. It feels like a whole new world when you only have to walk 20 meters to get to a different part of Hebron and everything feels completely different. From the sights, smells and sounds, my heart hurt in a way today that I’ve never felt before..
We hide pain in the most hidden places and I can start to see the hidden pain that is here in the Holy Land (specifically Palestine). The more layers I keep peeling, the more I can feel my heart is starting to carry a burden for this place, but at the same time I can also feel my heart is growing a new kind of love for this place.
I think I understand a little bit more when Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow Him. I think a big part of taking up our cross means taking in the pain of this world. The suffering and oppression that has been and is still happening here is real.
One of the greatest things that I know is that when we hurt, we don’t have to feel it alone, because God hurts with us. I’m grateful that God has allowed me to feel this. To feel a sliver of God’s pain, is not only a reminder of the pain Christ endured on the cross but how much greater that He loved us enough to take our pain away. At times this all feels too much to carry but I think it means I’m starting to carry my cross for the Lord a little more, than I did before. And that, I wouldn’t change for the world. I know God has me here for a reason and He will continue to show me things that I thought I would never see or experience and so, I’m excited for what He has planned next.
Tomorrow my team and I leave to go up north to Nazareth for the week. We’ll be volunteering at the Nazareth Village, seeing more of the sites and going to the Sea of Galilee.
Prayer Requests:
– Safety to and in Nazareth.
– Having some time for rest.
Caili
Withhold Nothing 