Oh little town of Bethlehem, how high is your sky rise!
In the humorous words of a dear friend when I share this picture, I did not expect this little town to be so vivacious and expansive.
On a serious note, our first day of the official tour and suddenly we are already wandering into Palestinian territory. WHAT?!
The West Bank. The. West. Bank.
No matter how terrified I may have felt inside, I was beyond elated. It was all I could do just to contain my excitement to be around people who spoke my language, who I had so identified with as a child.
I had no idea what I was really in for. In a good way.
Walking through the town of Christ’s birth and David’s upbringing, I felt Jesus everywhere. Our first step in the door, was into the arms of warm hospitality, in a store run by Palestinian Arab Christians. Yes, I said that. Palestinian, Arab, Christians. I about burst into tears of joy with every conversation I entered into. I could see the love of Jesus radiating in their eyes. Every word that came from their mouth set my heart on fire. I shared my story with them and they rejoiced with me powerfully! I felt like I belonged. All of 30 minutes of time there and I didn’t want to leave.
I know there is heated debate about Israel and Palestine. I had encountered it time and again in my own conversations. It is easy to say pick a side and the more I step out in relationship with Jesus, the more I’ve realized, there’s no way I can or should. It’s not about sides. It is so in my heart as a believer now to help others extend love and compassion to both Israelis and Palestinians alike. Belief and resting firm in said belief is at the core of my character. So in spite of everything I’ve been taught, in spite of everything I hear, I realized I couldn’t look at this topic in black and white.
I wanted to share with you what I wrote down on that day last year: “It’s hard to explain why I cried so many times off and on but I think it’s because I never thought I’d be here today. God I’m so thankful for your goodness, for making a way for me to come and see your home. My heart is overwhelmed with love and compassion to the chaos of the conflict but filled with faith for the peace that you will bring. Even with the Muslims burning police stations in Jerusalem, I have faith for the grace you bring.”
The conversations with these people, solidified that more than ever before. This made Bethlehem one of my absolute favorite stops on this trip. Yes, being in the Land and seeing the Bible come to life is important, but to me, something deeper needed to happen and this was fuel to that fire. I felt an increase of expectancy, like there was more to come.
one thing I have always appreciated about you is your strong desire (conviction) that God wants to bring peace into this region. I’m thrilled that you were able to have bright conversation with these brothers and sisters who are Christian Palestinians. Maybe you have a place in bringing peace to others who speak Arabic, whether or not their are Christian.