Life Lessons

This week, a small flower in Galilee, a wall in the Jerusalem quarter, and a sea taught me…..

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”- Howard Thurman

With two weeks left, I think a majority of the students here are realizing this Jerusalem dream is coming to an end…we must go back to to work, to college, to graduation, to masters programs, to housing selections, to relationships, to internships….. to reality. 

It is easy to get caught up in the details that make up our chaotic lives. (I found myself guilty of that just today; I felt my life being consumed with figuring out the details of my future. )

Since living Here, I have better understood that this life has so much to offer.  There is simply not enough time to see all of its glory.  Every second spent stressing is a second lost to discovering this beauty and being happy. 

Notice the child smiling on the corner of the street with a milk mustache. Notice the flowers blooming next to the sidewalk that you walk on every day. Listen to the boisterous laughter of a group of old men playing chess. See the glow in a young girl’s eye as she sees a significant other.   

Smell the freshly cut lawn. 

Live.

I live in one of the most religiously rooted Cities in the Entire world.  Jerusalem is a holy city to three major Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, Jerusalem has been the holiest city since King David of Israel established it as the capital of the kingdom of Israel and the first temple was built. The Old City alone is divided up into four Quarters: Christian, Armenian, Muslim, and Jewish.   I am bombarded with various religious perspectives, cultures, and peoples every single day.

Today is Shabbat for the Jews; I spent my afternoon with some friends watching devoted men and women reverently worship. I am impressed by these people; many dedicate their entire lives to God and the various religions they practice.  Even though we are equipped with different understandings and knowledge we are all still working as hard as we can, to do the best we can, with what we have.  I could not help but evaluate my own situation and life.

I have the fullness of the gospel…..what am I doing with it?

 

 

The Lord performed what men called impossible… Jesus calmed the storm, He walked on Water.

“Marveling at the power of One to whom the wind-lashed sea was a sustaining floor, the apostles bowed before the Lord in reverent worship, saying: “Of a truth thou art the son of God."

Peter requested to attempt the same feat. His attempt, though attended by partial failure, was a demonstration of the efficiency of faith in the Lord, such as no verbal teaching could ever have conveyed.

 The phenomenon is a concrete demonstration of the great truth that faith is a principle of Power, whereby natural forces may be conditioned and controlled.”    -Talmage

Storms will come in our lives and it may feel like all we can do is cling onto the mast to survive.  the Lord will come as he did to the apostles saying, “be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”

 

Or sometimes we may feel like Peter, terrified by the storms surrounding us, yet determined to come to Christ. We may find ourselves stepping into the unknown to come unto him. with faith we shall not fall, for faith in the Lord is Power!