Not Adding Up

Expectations are oftentimes so very different from reality, right?

We all have countless expectations that are either attained or not, and then we have to decide what to do with reality.

When I arrived in Israel a month and a half ago, I had all sorts of expectations.  You know how you always hear these stories of people who cross paths with angels or the ones of people who get revelations from the LORD?  I suppose I was expecting some of those things to happen.  If nothing else, I wanted to feel a sense of awe regarding the land because it is the site where Yeshua lived and died and rose again.

I thought I would feel super spiritual when stepping off the plane and walking where Yeshua walked, but I felt just the same as I did at home.  I thought I would have cool encounters with the LORD, but instead, He's teaching me how to better come before His throne in prayer (which is VERY cool).  I thought I'd have radical spiritual growth, instead He has been faithful to lead me beside still waters quietly, yet ever in His presence.

And perhaps that's what I've been needing instead of a loud Hallelujah experience.  Perhaps I've just needed the peaceful, steady hand of my Savior.

Holiday Blues

I don't get homesick.  While I was at school, I'd make it home only about once a semester while a lot of my friends made it home every other weekend.  I kid you not.  It's just that as long as I was busy with school assignments and social engagements, I didn't miss home.

The same thing happened once I got here.  I was instantly thrown into a beautiful schedule filled with lots of things to occupy my time, the result being that homesickness is once again non-existent.

Well...
...it was

Then there was this morning.  We started playing Christmas music as we were cleaning up after breakfast and all of a sudden I had a flash back to driving around looking at Christmas lights with my family.  That's when I realized how many holiday traditions and experiences I wouldn't be having with my family this year.  It will be my first Christmas spent away from home without a single family member present.  Out of nowhere, I got really homesick.

Talk about reality striking.

It's going to be weird.  Really weird.  But I've got several Americans here with me who are also spending their very first Christmas away from home, so I'm in great company.  We're going to have to live it up as much as possible.  Don't get me wrong, I love, love, love my family here, but it won't be the same.

So, here's to making new traditions, incorporating some old ones, and trying to have the jolliest Christmas ever!

The Time of My Life

One foot in front of the other now.  Continue to pace yourself as you go downhill and don't worry about taking the inclines a bit slower.  Breathe.

Last night I had the experience of a lifetime.  I ran a 10K for the very first time.  Now where I come from, there's a 10K every year, but I always manage to miss it.  This time, I had two days heads up and one persistent friend who managed to talk me into going.

Oh, and it was in Jerusalem...

I was a bit nervous when we began the long drive to Jerusalem, and I told myself several times that I wasn't going to run.  Well once my friends signed me up, I had no choice other than to run and enjoy it.

And enjoy it, I did!

It was the very first race I've run where I actually got a second wind (and 10 minutes into the run!) and the very first race where I've been able to pace myself the entire way so that I wasn't dead at the end.  It was also the first time I've ever run 6 miles together.  True story.

How do I begin to describe it?  It was a night run which meant the temperature was delightfully cooler than the middle of the day.  We ran past the Old City (the Jaffa Gate, I believe) cut through a lot of the New Jerusalem as well.  There are a lot of hills in Jerusalem, but they didn't make us run up any super steep inclines.  There were some really loooooooong ones though.  ;)  There were over 3,000 people who ran the race and the whole thing was simply amazing!

During the run, I had to remind myself where I was and what a unique experience it was!  I mean, getting to run through the streets of Jerusalem, the hub of so much activity both now and 2,000 + years ago was such an amazing thing to behold.  I still can't believe that it actually happened!  I'm serious when I say that the 10K has been my favorite Israel experience as of yet.  :)