Last travel before Next Great Thing and a Sunset

Tomorrow morning bright and early I will be headed to the airport with my soon to be teenage twins. We are going on a month adventure to Europe. With a life insurance policy left by my Mother who passed away in 2009, I decided to take my twins on a journey through Europe. This seems far more educational than the small blip the money would make toward their college fund. We will travel to Southern France; Italy; Paris; London; and Belfast. There will old friends along the way and as always, new ones to meet.

This trip is a bit of a “swan song” for the wilderness I've embraced. When I began this sporatic blog... I was not quite sure what the future held. I have savored the months since leaving my position with the Presbyterian Church (USA) toward Stanford. This will be my last big travel before I start my next Great Thing... Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Stanford Hospitals. I will be a Resident in this CPE program for one year beginning September 6. I have been promised this will be one of the most challenging and rewarding things I ever do. One of the greatest anticipated challenges will be the fact that the next year of my life has boundaries within about a 40 mile radius... that being from my home to Stanford. But I know I will be venturing toward journeys with people that will transcend space and location and maybe even time.

I also find this exploration in the wilderness has led to more clarity of what I wish for my future. There are people and places and things I have found I value more than I could imagine. And with the departure tomorrow, I realize the people and places and things I have decided to leave behind or redefine my relationships with.

Last night I had a wonderful time of sharing with a special friend and got to savor the sunset from my home beach. Can't wait for the sunsets and the sunrises the next month promises...

I am so excited to experience this trip with my "prophets from the minivan". And I am looking forward to coming home after this adventure to the mystery of what lies ahead.

Why this Blog?

I am on a journey... one that caps a long wilderness journey that began upon my arrival home from the Middle East last November, 2009. A mix of things play into that wilderness... the death of my Mother in October, 2009; a week before my return to the Middle East... the stress and realities of a call/job that was not working, and the human realities that slip in, even in a Christian setting... my health, that took a huge downturn upon my arrival home... and my discernment since Spring, 2009 of understanding the doors that have closed and looking toward the doors that will open and which one or ones I am being call toward. There's more but that pretty much sets the stage for the past year.

In a final trip in my current call I will travel to Lebanon and Syria for a consultation with the Presbyterian Church (USA) Syria-Lebanon and Iraq Mission Networks. Prior to that I decided to have a couple days in Paris for respite to ground myself before a time of closure and a time of opening my heart to the realities of others suffering. Before I come home I will have some time to see people I love and who have become my Middle East family.

Many people want to hear/see about this journey. Facebook seemed to limited to share so thus, this blog... and I must say, I am a bit reluctant of what I can share. With the ending of my job, and the meeting with Iraqis... both hold need for security and judgement as to what I may share. I hope I am able to share what's on my heart without offending, and by doing so, find more clarity and also let others in to share this journey. May it be so... onward...

I choose this photo I took last year of a Sunset at Saint Simon Citadel, Syria... just north of Aleppo. It is in the midst of ancient ruins with these strong trees framing the sunset with their strength and life. Sunrises and Sunsets are one of life's greatest gifts to me... always showing the rhythm and the need for endings and beginnings...