Connections

Good Morning All,

Well, I did it again…I clicked my heels 3 times and after almost a total of10 hours of return air travel, I landed back at RDU, a bit jet-lagged, but with a heart and mind filled with wonderful memories of exploring the Netherlands and a bit of time in Belgium. Yes, any of your pre-conceived ideas about the Netherlands and Amsterdam in particular may be true; there are so many other experiences to enjoy. So from my first, “Dag” (hello) to my last “Tot Zeins” (goodbye), it was a grand and marvelous trip, filled with tulips, canals, windmills, bicycles, museums, Delft porcelain, more canals, bicycles, traditional Dutch and Indonesian foods; did I mention, bicycles?; and of course, “melt in your mouth” chocolates :)

Spending time in a country that holds personal ancestral ties was an added dimension to my travels; to see names that relate to mine; to know that a current town official shares my same last name, only serve to remind me of ties that bind—of how we are all connected to each other in some way. And that connection reminds me of the different ways we are all connected to each other…not just by flesh and blood, but by common needs, common feelings, common desires, hopes and dreams.

Whenever I would sit on a bench or stone bridge and watch people pass by, I could hear many different languages being spoken (Amsterdam alone has over 200 languages represented there) yet as I looked at people’s expressions or hand gestures, I could sense if the conversations were intense, loving, filled with anger or questions or if the person were lost-- tourists intensely reading maps was one to which we could especially relate. :)

Signs and graffiti-laden bridges and walls were filled with hopes for world peace and an end to wars and hostilities. Children were filled with laughter and playfulness, engaged in childhood games and teasing. Walking around I could see families gathered in their homes for dinner; or see people looking out onto the streets; overlooking the canal; friends meeting at a café; parents enjoying their children…The scenery, the language, the food (way too many MacDonald’s & Burger King’s scattered about); the sites may be different, but there is no denying our connectedness.

Every time I am blessed to travel or to engage in conversations with people who are from different cultures, I am also reminded of the one, true God, who created us—each last one of us, no matter where we call home in this world; who made us in God’s own image; a God whose heart’s desire is to satisfy our hearts’ desires; a God who loves us unconditionally—who accepts us where we are and just the way we are—in one glorious rainbow of color, shapes and sizes; languages and lifestyles; different abilities…a God whose creation offers us blue skies and rain; sunshine and moon rays; oceans, rivers and canals; a God who has given people the ability to create tons of steel that can fly and stay flying over vast areas of land and sea…a God who gives us the ability to appreciate our differences, yet to have them fall away as God calls us to be one…to celebrate that universal oneness that calls us all to live in peace, understanding and with hope for the future...Thanks be to God…

Blessings, Joanne