Japan

I learned a lot about my God.  For surely He too has great joy in seeing His children work together in uncomfortable situations, and surely this is a marvellous thing – this JOY of God!

God the Father (Unknown)

We recently went on a family trip to Japan.  As a family this was an exceptional treat for us.  Obviously, it costs a lot of money and time to travel overseas, and we are blessed through the Grace of God to be able to do such a thing.  But there is something else required of this sort of trip.  There is a commitment to work as a team to get through it – so to speak.

Obviously, this was not a holiday where people could sit around on an island and sip cocktails and watch the waves crash against the shore.  Rather, it was the sort of trip where we were walking around in a strange land where we did not speak the language or really understand the customs and we were doing this constantly for a couple of weeks.  This meant that during that time we could not really argue with each other and split up because we were confused about how to find each other again.  We could not really afford to get distracted with personal issues between each member of the group because we had common objectives – to reach our destination and navigate our way through the crowds.

This was a very enjoyable experience for me as a mother.  You see, I had the opportunity of seeing my children work together to figure things out.  I was able to witness their caring of each other – which is sometimes not really evident among a family of teenage children. 

And I have been thinking about this today as I have been thinking about the trials and tribulations in our real life.

You see, one of the biggest discomforts of this trip to Japan was our lack of understanding of things.  This lack of understanding meant that we were constantly in a state of discomfort and constantly having to work together to get to a more comfortable state – getting food or to accommodation or to a train…

And this is like our life here on Earth.  We are on an uncomfortable journey to Heaven.  There are so many things on our journey that we do not understand.  People who we love die.  People who we love are injured or wounded or sick or suffering.  People who we love decide to part ways with us – spiritually and physically – and we are worried for them and we miss them and are concerned they are lost in the crowds.

And the only way to make things any easier is through community.  We come together physically, emotionally or spiritually through trials and sufferings of this world.  And sometimes we come together with people who are living on the earth, and sometimes, through souls who are living in Heaven.  Sometimes the prayers of someone long-dead are the prayers that convert our soul of allow us to find peace.  Sometimes it is the charity and mercy of those in our physical communities – a home cooked meal after a death in the family or a call from a friend when times are tough.

And I have been thinking about this as I have been thinking about Japan.  For it seems to me that I learned a lot on this trip – and not just about another country.  I learned a lot about my God.  For surely He too has great joy in seeing His children work together in uncomfortable situations, and surely this is a marvellous thing – this JOY of God!

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.