A sea of faith perspective

We arrived safely and have now each claimed our spot on the tour bus. My spot is at the front, right behind Aly, our jewish guide. She is a messianic Jew, and we are her second tour this year. It is raining as we drive through Tel Aviv. You know it is an agricultural based economy because everyone is thrilled and express their blessings for the rain. Daily they check the water level of the sea, if the water level is high the mood of Israel is good. We are here when the water level is at its best. This is the story of the life of a SK farmer too, except we defer to the rain gauge in our yards to determine our moods during the growing season.

Our driver’s name is Hani. His parents gave him this name because it means generous and kind but it feels a bit weird to say it out-loud, as in English it translates honey. He is a Muslim Arab and he speaks excellent English as well. Funny story: my Mom has been praying for both our guides, she mistook their nationalities for their first names though. We laughed but God knows her heart.

Today our journey is to trace the footsteps of Peter from Jaffa to Caesarea. Unfortunately, we do not have time to stop in Jaffa. It is a place we know from 3 major stories in the bible, especially from Jonah where he got the message from God to go warn the city of Nineveh. Today Jaffa is known for its art exhibtions, with a large statue of a whale to remember Jonah. What a great selfie that would have made.

Our group does stop at the Caesarea National Park, and performs a ‘speed walking’ tour of this amazing historical site; as it is closing in 30 minutes. Herod the Great built this city and he named it to honour Caesar, who gave the territory to Herod as a gift. We learn Herod the Great was called the greatest builder in Jewish history. He is known for his colossal architectural projects. Although the site is more than 2000 years old, it only stood for less than 100 years. Herod built the palaces and harbour on rocks in the water so that they would appear to be floating. Hindsight shows this was an unstable plan. The head quarters of the Roman Empire was here in Caesarea, not Jerusalem. It was a very important place. The city’s remains give evidence of the pomp and glory of its ancient days as well as acts as a vivid reminder that power like flowers fades.

Highlights of the tour for me were the ancient world’s version of gender neutral bathrooms, the Pontius Pilatus archeological inscription stone and looking for heart shaped rocks along the Mediterranean Sea for my garden collection. As I reflected on the picture I took of my footprints, the lyrics from Oceans by Hillsong began playing in my mind—take me deeper than my feet could ever wander and my faith will be made stronger. This is my personal prayer for this trip, for an increasing sea of faith to pour out on my heart and mind.

[He who made the Pleiades and Orion And changes deep darkness into morning, Who also darkens day into night, Who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the surface of the earth, The LORD is His name.- Amos 5:6]Meer informatie