Travel

Are Your Spiritual Eyes Closed? (Open Them If You Want To Hear More Remarkable True Stories Like This One)

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
person closed eyes

So, this is what happened that day several decades ago when the curtain was torn for me between the physical world and the supernatural world, and I finally began to see.

Because I finally began to believe.

I was seventeen years old at the time, travelling in Europe with my friend.

That day began like many others during that season as we rolled up our sleeping bags and left the hostel with a wave to the other youth travelers and set off on another day of adventure. This time, we were in Paris, a place I had longed to be for a long time. Years earlier, I studied the “Tour d’Eiffel and the L’Arc de Triomphe” from our sanitized classroom in Canada, the frigid winds blowing on the monotonous, nearly black-and-white landscape.

Not today!

We hiked up our fat, well-worn backpacks higher onto our backs. We pushed up our glasses and squinted, staring at everyone and everything as we passed, innocently looking away when we accidentally caught their eyes. This was our ridiculous effort to blend in with French culture as much as possible.

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being “jubilant,” our combined average mood on this trip was a 10.5.

We were thrilled just to be there, and every crack in the sidewalk offered an opportunity to explore a new aspect of French culture.

Except for today.

Today, for some reason that I couldn’t pinpoint, my mood was objectively declining. From the people we passed, who seemed to glare at us menacingly (This definitely wasn’t the case, my friend worriedly assured me), to the landscape, which was donning hues more reminiscent of black-and-white, rather than the opulent, exciting colors that a new surrounding conjures, I was losing my exuberant mentality.

In fact, I was becoming downright weighed down by SOMETHING, some ominous feeling that grew heavier with each step towards the train station downtown.

Something was wrong.

What was going on?

My friend and I had carefully assured each other that if either of us ever felt the slightest bit uncomfortable while travelling, we would change course until we both felt at peace. No questions asked. In four months of travelling, feeling uncomfortable had never happened to either of us.

Except for today.

When our train pulled into the station, the feeling of ominous darkness grew within me until I finally blurted out, “I DON’T KNOW WHY BUT I CAN’T GET ON THAT TRAIN!”

“Okay, okay!” my friend assured me calmly, in a tone one would expect a Psychiatrist to use when talking someone down from a ten-story window ledge who plans to jump.

We sat in silence on the bench, watching our train depart. We didn’t speak, each looking in a different direction, my friend occasionally suspiciously glancing at me from the corner of her eye. Had I gone berserk?

After five, ten, and then fifteen minutes of sitting in silence, I felt the heavy feeling lift more and more.

After twenty minutes, I was about a seven out of ten on our “Jubilant Mood Meter” and climbing.

What had just happened?

“Look, I’m sorry,” I offered. “I have no idea what that was about.” My friend looked relieved that I had re-found my sanity and breathed an audible sound of relief. “Let’s just catch the next train.”

Which we did.

About one hour into that train ride, our train suddenly stopped mid-track. There were no stations for a long time. My friend and I looked at each other quizzically.

An announcement came over the train’s speakers, stating that the train ahead of us had been involved in an accident and that we would have to wait for a while.

Our eyes grew big.

But my heart also expanded that day, until it was big enough to fit God inside.

That experience was like a North Star within me, too precious to speak aloud. I shared this story with only a handful of people for the first few decades. Why?

Who would have believed me anyway?

(Except you, of course.)

Be prepared to hear many more stories like this, friend, as we open our eyes.

Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe.

Saint Augustine in Confessions

As the song below plays, consider asking God how you may have accidentally let Jesus pass you by.

Photo Credit – Why Open Our Eyes? by Anita Jankovic on Unsplash

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!

We Need To Open Eyes To The Terrors Foreigners Are Exposed To For One Powerful Reason

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
close-up photo of persons eye

So I seized the homeless kid by the neck and violently shook him because he tried to grab my dime when I wasn’t looking at it for a moment.

Well, not exactly.

As proven HERE, you can’t trust EVERYTHING you read online!

The true story is HERE.

The summary of this event is:

  • We were on the other side of having relational connections that could help us (we were travelling)
  • We didn’t have a place to stay or some food either (we were robbed)
  • We were in a hostile situation (teen females travelling in a country that believed women brought trouble on ourselves for having the nerve to travel alone)
  • We were below being helped (the police wouldn’t let us use their phone to call our embassy!)
  • We were up the creek without a paddle (as the saying goes).

After the local police pushed us out of their office and told us to solve our problems ourselves, we looked around, stunned.

What do we do next?

“I know!” I announced energetically, my Ned Flanders optimism in high gear, even back then, more than twenty-five years ago. “Let’s return to our lodge and read what to do in our “Let’s Go, Europe!” guide!

“This is the worst thing that could have happened to us!” my friend yelled. “Nothing in that book tells us what to do next!” The truth of our situation was dawning on me, like a light bulb on a dimmer, slowly illuminating.

We sat on the curb, watching the street kids, whose faces had more grime than ours, though all our faces were marked with tear stains. They had bare feet, but otherwise, our hearts entwined as one as we experienced the beginnings of the emotions any other human would have felt in a similar situation – despair, alienation from “the rest” of culture, and fear. A few short hours had erased much of the divide between “us” and “them”.

“What now?” my friend and I asked each other silently. We were sitting curbside outside our motel. Despite our protests, the motel owner told us to get our stuff and ourselves out onto the streets where we belonged.

And then she came.

A local woman arrived bringing a tray of fruit and local bread to share.

She had heard about our “misfortune” from her daughter.

The one hiccup in this story of rescue is that her daughter was the one who immediately told us NOT to chase after the guy who robbed us. Was she an accomplice? Was her mother? Were they all working together as one terrifying mob? We didn’t have many choices, and so after inhaling the food, our eyes still wide with fear, we begged this stranger to let us stay at her home that night.

And she opened her home to us.

And she shared the Gospel with us.

In the years that followed, I had often wondered, did Jesus prompt her compassion so she would want to show up and check on us?

Maybe.

But opening her home to two teenage strangers until the embassy representative could arrive after Spain’s long weekend holiday altered the trajectory of my life.

What would my life have been like had I been tossed out onto the violent streets of the city for a week instead, I have often wondered.

This woman, obeying the inner voice of God, or perhaps the outer voice of a Pastor, or the words of a Sacred Text, saved my life from physical, emotional and/or spiritual trauma.

Oh, and so, why do we choose to open our eyes to dangers foreigners are susceptible to being exposed to?

But for the grace of God, that foreigner could be you or one of YOUR loved ones.

When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. . . Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. . . . Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”

The Message

And so now I can put myself in more dangerous and stupid situations because I KNOW that you will help me!

Thank you!

And you’re welcome for the advice!

Good luck!

Seriously though – Who is God asking you to remember in prayer, or what is He asking you to do this morning as you open your eyes to another? Who can you share your measly lunch with? Who could use a heart of compassion and an “I see you” smile?

And I wonder at the joy unveiled, like the opening of a present, when we meet the people in Heaven who credit us as those who were the hands and feet of Jesus through listening and obeying and changing the trajectory of their lives for the better.

How much future joy are you stockpiling? Got your heart open to the promptings of Holy Spirit? Oh, and thanks from those of us who appreciate your open eyes.

a row of gold bars sitting on top of a shelf

Photo Credits: Eyes Open by Amanda Dalbjörn on Unsplash, Gold Stockpiled by Yana Hurska on Unsplash

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!

The Truth About Your What Happens To Your Heart In This Situation – You’d Never Believe It

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
white arrow through red heart road signage

I realized with terror when I stepped back and surveyed my heart weeks after the event that I would have strangled that kid if he stole my quarter.

He was a homeless kid trying to survive.

So was I.

In one moment, I dropped precipitously off the other side of the cliff of privilege.

low-angle photography of rock formation under cloudy sky

The day before, I was swinging my handbag, contemplating digging out a quarter to give to the poor homeless child with his hand out toward me.

The next day, I was on the same side of the divide of privilege as him.

This is what happened.

And more importantly, this is what I learned.

I was a teenager, traveling in Spain with a friend the same age. This was the 1990s, when our “Let’s Go!” travelers information book read that “Women travelling alone in Spain are assumed to be seeking sexual adventure.”

We weren’t.

We were high school students on a Rotary exchange, testing our wings a bit by stepping out on a one-week travelling adventure without the Rotary families responsible for keeping us alive as the fledgling birds that we were.

After the guy slowly extracted our backpack from within my astonished arms and strolled away, I yelled, “There he is! I’m going after him!”

A nearby stranger put her arm on my shoulder and quickly consoled me, “Don’t chase after him. He has a knife.” Was she an accomplice? Was she right? My brain raced, and my body tensed in a flight, fight, or freeze stance. What should I do? I searched my friend’s eyes, wondering her thoughts, and her eyes were already downcast.

And in that millisecond, the decision of what we should do was made for us because he had already disappeared into the crowd, enclosing around him.

That bag contained all of our “Traveler’s cheques” (which is how we did money back then before those nice little ATMs spit out bills in the local currency), our passports and everything else we needed to survive and travel in a foreign country. We had to wait until after the long weekend and “Spain’s national boat day” holiday before we could expect help from our local embassy representatives.

We were up the creek without a paddle, as the saying goes.

Where would the river take us?

The rest of this story is for next time, but fast forward to a few days later when I shakily put the remaining quarters into the “Take your photo!” machine to make emergency passports. I was shaking so much that I dropped the quarter. Thoughts like, “Where would we sleep tonight?” were churning like waves of a violent sea inside my mind. We hadn’t eaten anything except wormy cabbage in three days.

“What are you DOING!?” my friend angrily admonished at my failed attempt to put a coin into the little slot. “That’s all the money we have!” she yelled angrily.

Grabbing the remaining coin from my hands, she glared at me before attempting to deposit it.

Drop, roll . . .

She was also shaking so severely that her fingers wouldn’t cooperate with her brain. Another coin rolled down the street as we both frantically lunged for it. At the same time, the homeless child ran with outstretched, desperate fingers towards the money.

“My kind, gentle demeanor is only a façade,” I realized with horror as I sipped an ice tea poolside months later and contemplated this event from the comfortable distance opulence and security affords.

I seriously thought I might strangle that street kid if he stole my quarter, an amount of money I would have gladly given a dozen times over the day before, as I looked down my nose at this “other” and prided myself arrogantly for this generous act of “Goodwill.”

“I am an animal with bared fangs, drooling and ready to rip another to shreds from one breath and the next,” I realized with terror in the weeks, months and years following this event.

And your civility may be a façade too, covered with a freezer full of excess food, keys to a warm house to sleep in tonight, and relationships in your town that will open the doors for you when you need help.

But what if you look into your bag one day and find it empty of these advantages?

Welcome to who you really are.

Stay tuned next time to discover why this truth, though terrifying, has the power to set us free.

Photo Credits – Heart Arrow by Nick Fewings on Unsplash, The Other Side Of The Cliff by Daniel Lincoln on Unsplash

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!

To Be A Fantastic Travel Blogger, Don’t Do This 1 Thing!

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

Do you ever look back on your life and think, “I must seem like a complete nutcase to someone else?”

I was driving from Canada to the United States on Stage One of this new identity as a “Successful Travel Blogger” this week when that EXACT same thing happened to me!

The Border Guard asked me why I was travelling to the United States. I was using all my self-control to ensure I wouldn’t get the giggles again like a teenager when the Border Guard asked me questions, and my nervousness took over like the last time I crossed the border. (That’s another story my children still annoyingly talk about incredibly frequently!) However, this time, in my calm, adult way as exemplified HERE, I answered his questions directly and without giving additional information.

“California,” I answered.

His annoying questions persisted, and before long, I found myself babbling about Revivals. “Have you heard of the Jesus Revolution?” I found myself asking the Border Guard excitedly. You see, I have been studying Revival History this year, and my travels are taking me to California to meet with others who have also been digging deep into Revival History. 

I am fully aware that this activity seems like a completely nutso way to spend your day to most of the world.

But it also reminds me of the unusual new world I entered when I jumped off the cliff and began following Jesus on a spiritual adventure in my university days.

“This is an entirely different world,” I endlessly repeated in my culture shock, babbling about our weekend get-togethers to whoever would listen. None of us university students would get drunk, and instead, we would spend our weekend evenings in times of prayer and tears, sharing our hearts after dancing at a toga party. It was an unusual mix of fun and depth.

And I’m still following God on an adventure that is a bit of a culture shock to the people I meet.

It’s funny what you get used to!

And it’s great how much fun life becomes when you stop caring whether you fit into the same box as everyone else.

And so, what is the one thing we shouldn’t do as a travel blogger?

Not care quite so much what people think of us so we can soar into the adventure God calls each of us to.

And so, another time, I’ll tell you more about how I’m persisting in being an amazing travel blogger so hopefully, you will put me on a pedestal and think very highly of me!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

Photo Credits – Person Thinking by Paola Aguilar on Unsplash, Bird Soaring Off Cliff by Ruben Valenzuela on Unsplash, Bird Soaring In Sky by Alfonso Betancourt on Unsplash

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!

Blind to What Actually Matters Most? The Forgotten Step You Need To Soar

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
a horse standing on a beach next to the ocean

Last time, I told you the story of me getting connected with an online group aiming to dig deep spiritually, past the muck and hard earth and to help each other shovel as deep as the soft parts of our hearts, where God feels most welcome.

So, to connect with this online group in person, I’ll be boarding an airplane this week, waving goodbye to you all and STARTING – Wait, I mean CONTINUING of course! – my new identity as a travel blogger!

But there’s a bit more to the story, a part reflecting how God is already there working in all of our lives, and to see this, we need only open our eyes.

This is what happened.

I mentioned last time that I sensed God asking me to join this online group, and I was surprised that God actually knows what He is doing and even knows more than I do! The surprise was that I fit right into a group of people with similar backgrounds, that God was wooing, it appeared, in a similar direction. I had no idea where to begin looking for a group like that, and wouldn’t have thought to try. And over the months, I felt more connected in this group and felt called to continue walking and digging deep with these people.

There’s a story and a surprise kiss from God at this part of the story, too.

Last summer, I thought I sensed God asking us to eliminate clutter in our home. As I sold stuff, I felt Him nudge me, saying He wanted me to buy something for myself with the money I earned. But what? I couldn’t think of anything, which may sound funny, but is true. Do we always need more stuff from Walmart or different clothes when duct tape makes stuff last sooo much longer? (Did I mention I’m Canadian?)

But then, when I realized a few months later that I wanted to take more courses with these people, I counted the cost, and the amount for me to study the courses for the year was within about $10 of what I earned from selling stuff last summer.

As the icing on the cake, I received an email from the group administrator last week saying that I miscalculated the PayPal fees and owe them another $10.

So what?

A coincidence?

Maybe.

Or maybe God is opening my eyes and vicariously opening your eyes, that He DOES offer us little jewels along our path if our eyes are open.

And so what is the forgotten step to removing spiritual blinders?

ask

you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it

Ancient Text

As the song below plays, ask God what He has been whispering, but your ears lie on the floor. Where is He standing next to you with a key to solve a problem that disturbs your soul, but you are too busy to stop and notice Him standing next to you?

Help us, God, to remove the blinders from our eyes and the cotton balls from our ears so that we can soar into who we are meant to become, we pray.

a large bird flying through a blue sky

Photo Credits: Horse With Blinders by rhoda alex on Unsplash, Large Bird Soaring by Alfonso Betancourt on Unsplash

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!

Want To Be A “Successful” Travel Blogger? (So Do I!)

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
smiling man walking while looking side view

I’m shading my eyes with one hand because the sun is so bright!

I’m looking into next week.

Next week, I am heading off on an airplane to California!

We know that I am a “successful” travel blogger as proven definitely HERE (Note to Editor – Can that link be “accidentally” malfunctioning so that readers can’t READ that Newsletter? Thanks!)

Where am I off to this week, you ask with wonder and awe?

Well, since you ask, I can share the details of my travel itinerary with you!

Last fall, I felt the spirit of God nudging me to join an online course with a spiritual focus.

I thought, “I’ll sign up later”, returning to my popcorn and movie. But I probably wouldn’t. That night, the last night you could register as the class started the next day, I felt Jesus holding his hand and leading me into the kitchen and to my iPhone to sign up.

At the first online meeting the next day, I was grumpy for even being there. “What am I doing here?” I wondered. I was later stunned, as you can imagine, when I heard the teacher say, “It seems God is leading some people together who have a Masters degree or a PhD that God is calling into writing.”

I hadn’t told them I had a Master’s degree that I tossed aside because it seemed God was leading me elsewhere. (Yes, the identity crisis did come, but that’s another story). The course had nothing to do with writing.

The point is that God has me on a journey (As he has you on). Would I follow?

Will you?

That group is meeting up this week in California to press in for more of God’s kingdom expressed through the hard earth and thick skulls all humans possess.

Is your heart searching for more of something, and could it be God, too, friend?

If so, join us on an adventure.

As the song below plays, listen with the ears connected to your heart. Do you sense God calling you, after you set aside your fear for a minute or two? What’s your next step?

And I’ll post updates on our travels and escapades here this week as a special focus.1

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!

1 Or I mean because I am a TRUE travel blogger (Note for my editor- Do you think they will believe me that I am “successful” even if my definition of success may not EXACTLY MATCH other’s definitions?)

We Travel For This One Hidden, Self-Deceived Reason

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

I’m feeling sad because today is the last day of our holidays.

I’m surprised because I’m going home to an awesome life! I mean, I take great pains to portray an image of having a fantastic life for you! (Why else would you read this stuff?)

I tenderly opened the depths of my heart to my empathetic husband, and he said something along the lines of, “Well, of course, you’re not happy to be going home! You’re a nutcase there!”

Actually, on reflection, he phrased it closer to, “You’re more stressed out trying to get a million things done at home.”

After I yelled at him and sulked for a while, I had coffee with Jesus, and that’s when I realized my husband was right.

(Don’t you hate it when that happens? I still haven’t admitted it to him, though. He is living under my condemnation, which increases the power balance in my favor for a while. I’ll be less mad at him the next time I do something stupid, and the power shifts in his favor. There’s some more free marriage advice! You’re welcome! Good luck!)

But we’re not done talking about this end-of-the-vacation-sadness thing.

The insight I had today is that the reason why we travel is . . .

. . . to get away from OURSELVES.

I mean, away from that feeling of wanting to be Jesus, get everything done, help everyone around you, and learn how to live a better life and stuff like that.

Wait. We’re not supposed to want to BE Jesus. It’s hard to keep all of that theology straight!

I left my To-Do list at home for just a week while we were on holiday. I left my neurotic rambling to try to figure out how to live a purposeful life closed up in my journal. Instead of powering through these lists and creating more lists, I simply enjoyed drinking fresh coconut water by the beach and laughing with the people I love.

And so it’s not that we need to get away from a particular PLACE to relax.

I’ve realized with startling insight and uncharacteristic blindness to my motivations that what I need to get away from is actually just ME.

Do you have any Type B  friends? Type B people seem to be more relaxed and don’t seem to wind themselves up so tightly about whether their life has meaning and unimportant stuff like that. I don’t happen to hang around any Type B people.

We don’t get along.

But perhaps the point of this trip is that shifting ever so slightly into that place where we put the responsibility for the meaningfulness of our lives onto the broad shoulders of Jesus is one of the ways that the weights can fall off of our lives so we can rise and soar like we’re meant to.

worms eye view photography of eagle flying across the sky

He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles

The Message

So no, I am not saying that Type B people have something we can learn from because I’m definitely not humble enough to admit that yet!

However, admitting that I’m not God is a good start!

And we all start somewhere!

I hope this helps you!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

As the lyrics of the song below sing, “It’s all I can do to get up in the morning . . . But where else can I go . . . but to you?” do you see Jesus holding out his arms to you like a father, bidding his small child to rest in his arms? As you quietly rest in his arms and take some deep breaths there, what do you sense him saying to you as the rest of the song plays?

God, we carry burdens and responsibilities that are too big for us. We finally, reluctantly, hand them over to you, and we receive the peace of knowing that holding your hand as we live our lives allows you to carry the responsibility for a life well-lived. Wake us up to how we try to carry what only you have strong enough shoulders to bear.

Photo credits – Dog in car window by Avi Richards on Unsplash, Eagle soaring by Rachel McDermott on Unsplash

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! (Proven HERE, HERE and HERE!) Let’s journey together!

For A More Authentic Travel Experience, Embrace Your Inner Idiot!

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

I’ve been thinking a lot about how we, as a culture, travel lately. Our family is travelling this week in a middle-income country. I was amazed at the most popular tourist tour, which allows travellers to:  

(1) Be terrified tubing down a river with rapids and canyons,

(2) Horseback ride in the nearby wilderness, 

(3) Zip-line through a canyon inclusive of rock climbing and Tarzan swings 250 feet above the ground, and

(4) Experience mud baths in about 10 different pools of varying temperatures.

And this is all done in one day.

It got me thinking, “Really? Do we need to do that many things in one day to keep our high-revving ‘I’m bored’ switch turned off? Is there another way?”

I think there is another healthier way – To be willing to look like an idiot!

For example, we hired a guy to point out the types of birds lurking in the sidelines everywhere we travelled but that we didn’t have eyes to see.

Check out this bird!

We saw this greater-than-full-size likeness painted on a restaurant wall later that day, which I also wouldn’t have given more than a passing glimpse a few days prior. 

“That’s a Turquoise-Browed Motmot!” I exclaimed in delight, my neck twitching. I recently learned that this is a common side effect of birding. Here below is the bird in real life.

Can you imagine how incredible it would be to see this bird in real life, aided only by a telescope or binoculars?

It was thrilling.

And wasn’t even the bird tour itself that was the most thrilling – It was more the effect it had on waking us all up to an unseen reality. “What is that?” our 16-year-old daughter exclaimed two days after the bird tour, stopping mid-step on a mundane walk, her ears alert to an unusual bird call, one none of us would have noticed a few days before. Her ears became more sensitive.

When we slow down and notice the stuff around us that we can’t usually see because of the comfort we rely on of all our distractions to avoid thinking or feeling the thoughts that matter, life gets a little more fun.

Sometimes, Holy Spirit even breathes on the wind as we’re going about our day, and if our ears aren’t filled with noise, with luck, we may have picked our ears up off the floor and attached them to our heads long enough to maybe catch a word or two God utters to our hearts.

Got time to find your ears, friend, and attach them for a few minutes?

“You hear [the wind] rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it’s headed next. That’s the way it is with everyone ‘born from above’ by the wind of God, the Spirit of God.”

Jesus, the guy one-third of the world claims to follow (He’s cool!)

And then we don’t need quite as many amphetamines or adrenaline or even indulging in the types of activities that go against the best versions of the very souls we were created to be.

“If you’re not going into the ocean, or you’re not going to the top of a mountain, or you’re not going into the woods or the rain forest, the only alternative is [an] assault on the senses.”

Paul Schulick, New Chapter*

It’s just you and a bird and nature and a little bit of humility to realize that you may also not know the difference between the call of a Pygmy owl and a White-Winged dove (True story- Don’t judge me!).

But there are also no hangovers, ego promotion or moments of regret.

Being a loser definitely has its advantages!

Try being an idiot, too, the next time you travel!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

When the lyrics sing, “I don’t want to miss it”, consider asking God, “Would you heal my ears so I won’t miss the melody You are singing over my life?”

God, thank you that You delight in reattaching our ears that so quickly fall off in the distractions of life. Show us how to keep our ears near, that we can hear the sound that propels us into a life of adventure, with You, we pray.

Footnotes

*I actually read this quote in the book Ageless by Suzanne Somers, but I’m too embarrassed to admit to reading that book. (No offence, Suzanne – You are intelligent even if the TV personality you portrayed was not!) And besides, why would I be reading an anti-aging book? No reason! Of course I’m PERFECTLY accepting of the natural aging process – Thank you very much! 

Photo credits: Slow penguin crossing by Casey Horner on Unsplash, Turquoise- Browed Motmots by Bernal Fallas on Unsplash.

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! (Proven HERE, HERE and HERE!) Let’s journey together!

How To Break Through Travel Barriers – (Listen For Love)

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

Do you ever travel to a new country and feel as if somehow you have travelled inside a large glass box, with carefully placed posters on every wall so that you can’t see outside?

How can I see the actual “them” – the people who live in the place I am visiting as a tourist?

We travelled to a lower-income nation recently, and glass walls abounded. We were visibly the tourists. Despite long looks from a passerby – despite seeing a glimpse of a local’s hand through the glass walls laden with posters – even so, culture and financial inequalities ultimately separated our shared humanity.

It was love that broke through the impenetrable travel barriers.

Brochures distributed to tourists in this country clearly warned: “Do not leave valuables unattended.” And the pictures were those of children. A warning to keep kids close. Common sense anywhere. 

So as we drove to church that Sunday, I prepped the kids ahead of time so they would stay with us in the service, regardless of whether there was a children’s program.

They nodded and looked out the glass windows of the car.

But as children often do, through a look, a smile, and then holding hands and a hug, our 8-year-old quickly made a new friend a few minutes before church started.

“Oh, Mommy, can I go too?” my daughter’s shrill voice echoed loudly down the church hall as her new friend paraded to the children’s program ten minutes later.

I smiled, nodded, and followed my daughter, changing my plans and sacrificing my attendance at church so I could sit with her in her program. Seeing the huge smile on her face, it was not much of a sacrifice. I felt the claws of my mother bear hands protruding from my paws at the thought of leaving my child with these people.

“They would have to kill me first,” was my knee-jerk reaction to my inner question of whether I would leave this child with these people.

Who were these people anyway? What did they value? I had noticed the ten-foot-high iron gate at one location. Who were they keeping out or in? What were the relative risks?

I didn’t know.

I would be content to sit and watch my child play in her Sunday school program.

But what I wasn’t prepared for, what I didn’t have any defence against, was the love of God poured into my heart. What would I do with this water, this love for the people around me, pooling at my feet? “Where do I put this water?” I called out to God.

Leave the water here and come with me, He seemed to nudge my heart.

Back to the church service?

Yes, He assured me.

And so I left.

And His peace came with me. And His peace sat with me, calmed me when I remembered the folly of my actions, leaving my child with – who are these people? Panic would rise in my chest, and God would reassure and calm me again.

For some reason, it seemed important that I trust my child to these people –

To His people.

And as I knelt to receive communion at the front, tears poured down my cheeks. Again, I was reminded that I am somehow part of a family, even of a family of people of whom I don’t even know their names. We are united in love, somehow. And I am not alone, no, never truly alone. How am I truly alone when love surrounds me?

When the service ended, I went outside, past the church, to the children’s building, collecting the piece of my heart that had been ripped away from me for a short while by our Savior Himself. 

I was astonished at the responses I received.

Six or more women, strangers, saw me and then spontaneously threw their arms around me, one after another, as I walked by them.

We didn’t say a word to each other. But these women knew what I gave them. Trust. The ultimate symbol of love. And they loved me because I loved them. And I loved them because I knew that they first loved her.

And so, the walls separating our cultures were entirely demolished that day.

God, from the wounds of your cross flow the waters of your love. May the waters of love pour from our tiny sacrifices, too, as we obey You, prompting our hearts. Continue to heal our hearts with your love for us, and with our love for each other, we pray.

I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

Jesus Christ

Photo credit – Divided coffee cups by Alex Padurariu on Unsplash

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The Best Strategies You Need To Cure Boredom During Travel- Cultivate 4 Helpful Strategies!

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

On the plane, I was impressed by the elderly gentleman playing chess on his iPad. He stared at the same screen as I walked past him on three washroom breaks. “I want to be him when I’m old,” I thought, comparing his chosen activity to the 123 screens per second approach of the average TikTok user I also passed on the way to the bathroom.

And no, the older man playing chess wasn’t senile, staring at the same screen for no reason (I don’t think)!

And so, how can we cure boredom and grow our intellectual prowess when we travel, you wonder? I’m glad you asked! Try cultivating these four helpful strategies:

1. Cultivate an innate curiosity for the wonders of modern travel technology!

The technology they have is fantastic nowadays at airports! For example, while waiting to board a flight, the announcement said, “If you try to board the plane out of order from the group number you are assigned, our system knows and will automatically alert us!”

Aren’t you glad for the prowess of modern technological innovations?

“Plus,” I thought, “the group number is printed on your ticket in bold letters, and the people who check your tickets can read.”

Still, take a moment to be impressed, friend!

2. Cultivate a deep understanding of every detail of the flight emergency plan!

“Jump onto the evacuation slide and move AWAY from the airplane,” we were told in the safety demo. After this talk, my husband and I put our heads together to remember the relevant details. “But once we’ve jumped onto the slide, what direction should we travel again? 

Was it TOWARDS or AWAY from the plane? 

How will we keep all these details straight?” we wondered.

Thankfully, however, we have an opportunity to stretch our minds as we deeply ponder these details!

3. Cultivate suggestions for improvement to help the airline you are travelling with!

On our first travel day, two airplanes returned to the gate for “flagged maintenance concerns.” Really! Who cares about stuff like that? 

We have been ignoring the check engine light on our car for WEEKS, for example, and nothing bad has EVER happened!

And besides, we want to GET THERE FAST!

Thankfully, there are people like us who can offer suggestions to the flight maintenance crew on behalf of all of the customers surrounding us, all of whom had similar thoughts to ours, as we could tell by overhearing their exultations after this announcement!

4. Cultivate thankfulness!

My strategy is to consider how things could be even worse and to develop thankfulness for how things are! 

For example, I left my four-footed companion at home*, so I’m thankful we don’t also have to find the “relief areas for service dogs,” which seem to appear randomly at the worst timing, in addition to navigating our lost baggage, our lost connections (and where DID that other child go, anyway?)!

And cultivate thankfulness.

The Message

The point is that maybe you won’t grow intellectually, on second thought, but you’ll have fun even amidst the ridiculousness of life! And that sure beats being on the verge of having a stroke, like the guy standing next to us in line almost did, as his face turned purple and he blurted incoherently and randomly during our wait in this lineup for 1.5 hours.

It SAYS “Customer Assistance”!

I’m not sure how his “having a stroke” strategy works in his favour, but we all have our methods!

I hope some of these helpful strategies work for you!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

Footnotes

*My dog IS a “service dog” because he is a sleep aid. (His sleeping example reminds me that if I had food and time outside today, and someone loves me, I have nothing to worry about, so I can sleep, too!)

Photo credit: People on plane by Gerrie van der Walt on Unsplash