I started to get off the plane, too tired from the long journey to realize the true impact of what was happening. We claimed our baggage and said hello to our new professors. As the tour bus took us to our new home, Yad HaShmonah, our professor taught us a Hebrew song called “Hodu L’Adonai. Walking through those foreign airport halls is mostly a blur, but I do remember thinking, I’m actually in Israel.
November 30, 2014
The tour bus lurched forward, carrying us all to a place we didn’t want to go. We said our goodbyes, both to our professors and to our home for the past three months. As Yad HaShmonah disappeared beyond the bend, we started up a tearful rendition of Hodu L’Adonai. Soon we were back on the plane, headed back to America, this time fully aware of what was happening. Most of the plane ride is a blur, but I do remember thinking, I’m actually leaving Israel.
February 18, 2015
Processing three life changing months is next to impossible (hence why this post is so late in coming). When I came home, I was disappointed to find that the only question people seemed to be interested in asking was, “How was it?” Um… Great? Life changing? Amazing? How on earth am I supposed to encapsulate all that I experienced, saw, learned, touched, tasted, smelled and thought in one or two adjectives? It’s simply an impossibility. The more I attempted to convey my experiences, the more I lost people's attention. Then I tried to summarize into a few short sentences. While this satisfied the people I was talking to, it failed to convey anything of depth. So I kept searching. I kept mulling through my experiences, browsing through old pictures, rereading Scripture passages attached to those memories. The only people that I could convey any type of meaning to were those people who experienced Israel with me. Suddenly I realized how much I missed them. I didn't need to explain anything to them; a simple word would bring a flood of shared memories and experiences. Our very lives changed together. We experienced something lasting; something that was meant to transcend time itself. But I'll explain that later.
The more I attempted to relate the true and full impact that my trip had on my life, the more I was met with bored looks, disinterest, and even eye rolls. I've even had several people tell me, "You need to move on and get over it."
Get over it? Just get over it?
The more this statement echoed in my thoughts, the more I knew that I could never do such a thing, and that I would never want to. Yes, I had to get over missing my IBEX friends. Yes, I needed to get over being back in the United States because I needed to be content with where God brought me in life. Of course, I did not want to worship the blessing over the One who blessed me. But there’s more to it than that.
When I first traveled to Israel, I had no idea what to expect. I knew that I would experience the Word of God in a way I had never imagined possible, but I couldn’t begin to imagine what else the Lord had in store for me. My feet have been standing within the gates of Jerusalem (Psalm 122), I have walked around her and numbered her towers (Psalm 48), I have walked where Jesus walked and have seen the things that Jesus saw. I have wandered where Israel wandered for forty years, I have swam in the same sea that Peter jumped into to meet his Lord on the shore. I have traveled from Dan to Bersheva (Judges 20:1 – a metaphor for all of Israel). I have experienced the Bible in a real, tangible, and deeply personal way. I discovered things about my Messiah; things about His plan for me, for Israel, and for the world. As I trekked all throughout the Promised Land, I could not help but think,
This is where it all began.
This is where God made His covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15). This is where God led His people, His representatives on earth (Exodus). This is where Israel failed and where God continued to be faithful in spite of them. This is where God’s presence lived. This is where Jesus the Messiah, God Incarnate, appeared to redeem the race of men, a people who rejected God and provoked Him to His face (Isaiah 65:3). This is where He healed the blind, the lame, the lepers, the deaf (Matthew 11:5). This is where He raised a dead man (John 11) and performed signs and wonders such as had never been seen before (Matthew 9:33). This is where He gave up His life to save the very people who mocked Him, hated Him, and crucified Him. This is where He conquered sin and death once and for all by rising again. This is where He ascended and later sent His Spirit to dwell in individual followers, making us the living stones of the Temple (1 Peter 2:5). This is where Jesus’ feet will touch the earth once again (Zechariah 14:4). This is where the shofar will blast and the dead will rise to meet Him (1 Thessalonians 4:17). This is where the Messiah will bring in the Millennial Kingdom and will reign from Jerusalem; where the nations will come in droves (Zechariah 14:16). This is where God will make all things new (Revelation 21).
This is where it will all begin again.
Through it all, I caught a glimpse of something I had never seen so clearly before. I got to step back and look at redemptive history in a way I had never seen it before. I got a taste of God’s plan. I saw and experienced the glory of the Lord! I feel strange saying that because I obviously didn’t see God’s glory like Moses or anything, but I don’t know how else to express it. I tasted the glory of God’s plan and of His character more than I’ve ever done so before. I felt closer to Him than I’ve ever felt before; I was in awe of Him on a higher level than I’d ever reached before.
Do you want to know what I experienced in Israel? I experienced something beyond just friends and memories and travel. I experienced something beyond even a life changing event. I experienced something that was meant to transcend time itself: timeless awe for the glory of the King of all Kings.
That is why I cannot and will not simply “get over” my time in the Holy Land. I cannot get over the new found level of awe that I have for my incredible Savior. My Savior is the same Savior who walked with Adam, who talked with Abraham, who parted the Red Sea, who led the Israelites through the wilderness, who delivered His people time and time again, who appeared on earth to save humankind, who will appear again to redeem creation and to reign forever and ever.
The God who worked and moved thousands of years ago is the same God who works and moves in my life. He has not changed, and He will never change (Hebrews 13:8; Isaiah 46:4). That same God loves me, cares for me, and is growing me into the Image of His Son!
That is the sum of all that I learned and experienced in Israel.
Just get over it? Never.
May I never, ever, ever “get over” the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, my Savior, my Master, and my King.
It’s been 172 days since I left for Israel. It’s been 124 days since I experienced Galilee. It’s been 105 days since my life changed in the wilderness. It’s been 81 days since I left the Holy Land. It will be 809 days until I return to Jerusalem, Lord willing.
Yes I’m counting. No, I’m not over it. I will never be ‘over it.’