Spirit of Adventure!

Oh, the places you'll go!  Oh, the things you'll see!  Doesn't that sound like a children's Dr. Seuss book?  If you have but the tiniest spirit of adventure, you'll be rewarded many times over by traveling to interesting places and talking with interesting people.

There's this theory of mine; I've proved it individually many times on airplanes.  I propose that if you talk long enough to any person in the world, eventually, you will find a connection.  Try it sometime!  The best places to have a long chat are on long plane trips or between flights for a few hours.  Long bus rides are good places, too.

Recently, I was thinking about my trip to Israel last October.  Due to the volatile situation in that part of the world, at first, my daughter #4, Theresa, and I decided we shouldn't go.  Then a week later there was an ad in our church bulletin for "14 days in Israel and Italy, led by Father Richard," a former parish priest.  We knew we would be safe with Father Richard!  By the time we reached Rome, our tour group ended up with five priests and 40 people!

Personally, Israel must be one of the safest places in the world!  There are six separate checkpoints.  Every person and their luggage is thoroughly checked, both before entry into the country and when exiting the country.  I have never gone through any security checks anywhere that approaches that level of thoroughness.

And now, week after week, I am reaping the rewards of that pilgrimage!  When the Bible readings tell where Jesus was, I remember: I was there!  It means so much more!  But this isn't a 'pitch' for Israel, it is a 'pitch' to pick a place, and go there!

My dear parents, Adeline and Reuben, were world travelers.  They explained, "We're going to travel - while we can."  Then one day, when Mom was around 80 years old and Dad was 85, they decided they were too tired to travel and told me and my brothers, "If you want to see us, you'll have to come to us."  And we did.  I hope to do the same, travel while I can!

One interesting person Theresa and I met on our Israel trip was a young steward on the plane.  We were sitting on an 'exit' row and he pulled down a seat opposite us and sat down.  It seemed a really long time to taxi out of the Atlanta airport, but we learned his life story, how he was from Austria and wanted to travel the world and now he is able to do so and where he's been and where he plans to go.

Don't limit your world!  God has created for us a most beautiful, exciting world!  See a few new places, while you're still able!