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!