The CHURCH OF ALL NATIONS takes the cake in my book. It was the most beautiful sanctuary I had ever seen. Located on the same site as the Garden of Gethsemane, the array of colors inside and outside spilled over my sense of sight and seemed to fill my being with awe. It was a glimpse of heaven, but yet so unworthy to be compared to the beauty of God. I sat inside and felt the light waves cast by massive stained-glass windows dancing across me. The tranquil silence and thoughts of Christ filled me with peace.
O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, hope in the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore.
PSALM 131 // I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul
Less than 6 hours later, I experienced that peace in an incredible way. We were in the West Bank after having seen Bethlehem and the Herodium and had just finished hiking around rocky valleys in Tekoah. Suddenly, teenage boys hiding in ditches on the side of the road began pelting our bus with rocks. One came flying through the windshield and another broke out the door, hitting our professor in the head. Thankfully, our driver floored it and we made it out quickly. Other than broken glass, everyone in the bus was okay and no one was seriously scared. We stopped once we crossed back into Israeli control and filled out some police reports. Benj (our professor) got a medical check-up and his head is okay! Other than thinking that it was gunshots/grenades coming through our bus (I laugh now) I felt overwhelming peace that evening! I thank the Lord for a little taste of what life here is like, to sense His hand protecting all of us in such a tangible way. So please don't worry, it was a minor incident and a good reminder that we are in a land of turmoil with a sovereign Lord. We aren't going back into the West Bank anymore this semester and life is continuing as normal! [full of abundant peace]
If it had not been the LORD who was on our side --
let Israel now say--
if it had not been the Lord who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
then the flood would have swept us away
the torrent would have gone over us;
then over us would have gone the raging waters.
Blessed be the LORD,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth!
We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped!
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
PSALM 124 // Our Help is in the Name of the Lord //
