Vagabond Blues

It has been a few weeks now since we arrived back in America and we have been staying with our families in Washington State. It has been great to be around family and enjoyable to be able to see them everyday... something we have never been able to do since we got married 11 years ago. Even with all of the benefits of being around family we are still living out of suitcases and we still realize that we are not home. The question is will we feel like we are home when we arrive in California next month?

For me, our time in Israel feels like a blip on the radar and I wonder how the time went by so quickly. Today I heard a song that often played in my Ipod and for a moment I felt like I was walking up Rehov Gidon on the way to Bus #30. I thought about how it feels like just a few days ago when I was finding my way around the University and learning to read Hebrew signs. I can still feel the emotions of excitement and anxiety as I explored my new surroundings half a world away. I remember feeling completely blessed to have such an amazing opportunity and how I wanted to take advantage of everyday. Later in my day today I walked out of a store and a man wearing a Kippa walked in and I stopped for a moment because I was so excited to see a Jew. I wanted to sit and talk with him in Hebrew (assuming a random American Jew knows Hebrew). It was funny to e how just seeing him stirred emotions of familiarity and comfort.

It was after this moment that I realized that I have not unwound yet from my trip. I still want to embrace the feelings of living in the Middle East and I am not sure that I am ready to live here in the land that I love more than any other. I fear that I will be bored. I fear that I will not recognize God's blessings on my life even here and I fear that I will miss the excitement of living right where I am now. I know America does not compare to the excitement of Jerusalem but as my 5th grade teacher said, "nothing is boring, it is boring people who get bored". California is one of the best places on earth to be and I look forward to being there, but for now I feel like a drifter waiting to land somewhere permanent. I hope the next stop will also bring new excitement and joy.