WOYWW: An Adventure in Petra

This is supposed to be a short post for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday but alas, not this week!

I did some tidying up!  And I had some help...

Last week I didn't get to post a close-up of a wonderful surprise I received from Jo.  Thank you so much, Jo!  You must visit her and see her lovely eyes ;-)

Here is a quick sketch I made in my travel journal.  Notice the waters at the bottom left...

While we were in the amazing World Heritage Site of Petra, Jordan, I marveled at the ancient structures...

and amazing rock formations of the "Siq," the dim, narrow gorge (in some points no more than 3 m wide)  that winds its way approximately 1.2 km...

 

The first glimpse of Petra's most elaborate ruin, Al Khazneh (The Treasury), was awesome...

David Bjorgen

 and to see The Treasury up close was a dream come true.  But the dream turned into something of a nightmare when we experienced what would have been a terrifying experience for me if not for my faith in God - a flash flood!

It was drizzling when we started our walk and our tour guide made a remark about not dilly dallying because of the possibility of flash floods.  I thought he was joking and I said, "Oh, that would be too exciting for me!"  

By the time we reached The Treasury the rain had gotten harder (see the edge of the umbrella in the top of the picture above?)  and right after we took a group picture, our tour guide told us to hurry back.  Some of our older tour mates were able to ride the horse carriages but there were only a few carriages available.  

In a few minutes, he was shouting, "Move!" and pointing to the water flowing through the Siq, "See, the flash flood? It's starting already!"  Oh my gosh!!! By now we realized he wasn't joking after all, and not knowing just how high the floods would eventually reach was frightening.  Walking as fast as I could and getting breathless at the effort, the water quickly rose to knee high, and it was freezing!

After a while, a Petra guide told us to stop under an overhanging rock (this is what I later drew in my journal).  Here, we were able to catch our breath and we prayed together. For a while I thought we would wait it out under the comfort of the cave but in a few minutes, we heard the familiar, "Move!" and out we went back into the rain and the freezing floodwater.

But this time, I recalled these verses,

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 

Philippians 4:4

In every thing give thanks. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18

I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise; continually in my mouth. 

Psalm 34:1

and decided to do just that.  Thanking God while walking through the freezing flood, I felt courageous and victorious!   I had other lessons to be learned from this experience but that is for another post and I leave you with this verse from Isaiah.  

Thank you, Lord, for your protection, and for renewing my strength!  Also sharing this in Word Art Wednesday,  Inspire Me Monday and Paint Party Friday!

You are My Beloved

Visiting the Holy Land and renewing my baptismal vows with water from the River Jordan, where Jesus himself was baptized, continues to fill me with gratitude.  And as I looked back in my prayer journal, I saw this entry about Jesus' baptism, with a quotation from Saint John Chrysostom,

...Why did heaven open when Jesus Christ was baptized? To teach that the same thing invisibly happens at your own baptism: at that moment God calls you to your homeland in heaven and invites you to have nothing further in common with earth... If we do not now see the same signs nevertheless we receive the same graces of which these signs were the symbol.

Then a dove was seen descending... It would also teach each one of us that the holy Spirit comes down on our soul at the moment of baptism.  It no longer comes in visible form because we no longer need it to: faith is enough now...

...This dove also reminds us of an event we read about in the Old Testament: when the earth was inundated by the flood and the whole human race in danger of perishing, the dove appeared to announce the end of the disaster; it carried an olive branch bearing the good news of the restoration of peace in the world. Now all this was a prefiguration of of what was to come... When all was lost, deliverance and renewal came about. What formerly took place through the deluge of water now takes place today as if by a deluge of grace and mercy... It is no longer only one man that the dove calls to leave the ark to repopulate the earth; it draws all men to heaven. Instead of an olive branch, it brings to all humankind the dignity of adoption as children of God.

What an amazing gift the Lord wants to give each and every one of us, no exception.  Just as I shared in my previous post about the River Jordan, even when we are dirty and muddy, God calls us to be holy.  He wants us to be his children.  He wants us to hear him say, "You are my beloved!" Luke 3:22  Thank you, Lord!

Sharing this in Paint Party Friday, In the Studio Sneak Peek Friday and Faith Filled Friday!

WOYWW: Walking Where Jesus Walked

 

I have just come back from an amazing pilgrimage to Jordan, Israel and Egypt (and a side trip to Taiwan).  No time to put away all the maps and brochures I collected along the way so they are all on my desk today for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday.  

In Jordan, we visited the Jordan River, the place where Jesus was baptized.   I put my hand in the flowing brown water.  This is where Jesus was!  Fr. Dave, who was leading our pilgrimage, invited us to look at the muddy waters of the river, made holy because Jesus chose it for His baptism.  And so now, it is set apart among all other rivers.  Holy, even if it is muddy.  And so it is with us, sinful and dirty though we are, when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He chooses us to be His, set us apart for Him, holy.  Reflecting on this while looking at the muddy river, so grateful for God's goodness and mercy, it was hard to keep from crying (actually, all throughout the trip, I seemed to be crying!)

Right there, in the river where Jesus was baptized, we renewed our baptismal vows, and one by one Fr.Dave anointed us with water from the Jordan. Here is an illustration I made in my pilgrimage journal...

And as I often do, I leave you with a page from my prayer journal...

 

 God spoke to me through His Son, Jesus, as I walked where He walked in the Holy Land.  Hopefully, I will get to share a bit of the places I visited in the coming days.  For now, why not visit the WOYWW, Word Art Wednesday and Inspire Me Monday lists!

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten Season in our church. And so I thought I would make a quick post even if I am away from home, to share with you my desk for WOYWW...

and my prayer journal illustration in progress...

I couldn't post last week and I was in a different country from where I am now, but I did take a picture of my desk...

I hardly get to do any art when I am travelling but oh, what a lot of inspiration there is all around!  

Visit my blog friends over at WOYWW, Inspire Me Monday and Word Art Wednesday!