Journeys..

Dear Family,

When you blessed me with a chance to spend two and half weeks in Israel/Palestine a year and a half ago, you have no idea how you changed my world, my life. Why? Because you gave me an exciting chapter to add to the narrative that is my life. You made it possible for me to have experiences that enhanced my journey, and those stories have become memories that will remain with me until i journey home. Your grace allowed me to live life, truly live life. And i will forever be grateful for that opportunity.

I rehearse that now, because Genesis 46, with an initial reading, has little to offer. It is in three sections, but it seems to be filler material, or a segue until something greater, more exciting happens, which makes Genesis 46 easy to forget and quick to gloss over. But after rereading it, for the third time, something caught my attention, something that i had looked past twice before. Though this is a chapter that serves as a segue, almost, between the promise of Abraham and the end of the story of Jacob to the Exodus with Moses, it does serve a very real purpose. It reminds us that life is not about reaching a "destination." It, life, is about the journey.

And as God revisits Jacob, before Israel/ Jacob enters Egypt, we are reminded that behind every challenge, every joy, every disappointment, and every celebration is our amazing Creator. He stands ready to remind us that if we remain faithful, and we trust in His promise, His promise, in His time, will come to fruition. We might not see it, as Jacob didn't. But we can have faith that it will happen.

More than that, as Jacob traversed the land with his entire family, nearly 70 in all, it reminds us that journeys are meant to be shared with other persons. No journey, whether facing tear gas in Hebron or uniting under God's vision as a struggling church, no journey works alone. We must share our journeys, or they simply become caveats and not the chapters that God intends them to be. We must invite others to share in our life stories.

When we do, when we unite under God's love, then nothing can stop us from making the most of our time on earth. We, each of us, have but a few years, and if we share those years with sisters and brothers, in a life altering faith, we will make the most of them. We might not see the Promised Land, Moses didn't, but we will know our lives existed for a purpose, to bring glory to God. That knowledge, that knowing, will give us the peace we need to enjoy each day God gives, together.

So get ready for a new adventure, a new exciting journey as the West Milton Church of the Brethren. I dont know, still, where God will take us, but i dont need to. If you join me, thats all i need for the trip. And we will make the most of what time we have and what God gives us to do. Amen.

Salaam,
jerry