Road Ruminations

Nov. 10, Tuesday

We are at the Walkers now, our 6^th day into the trip. More on that in a bit. I must ruminate a bit first! I have been reading through Amos with the aid of Amos and His Message by Roy Lee Honeycutt. And this is how that has felt:

Prophet VS Vacation

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Chapter 6 of Amos is a bit tough to be working through while driving down the highway in a lovely RV. The first verse starts like this; “Woe to those living at ease in Zion, and to those who feel complacent on the hills of Shomron…” What does it mean to live at ease? The Hebrew word for this happens to be one of my favorite words because the transliteration of it sounds a lot like Shannon—the name of one of my daughters and also one of my daughters-in-law. I pray that name over them because it means to dwell in safety, to have quiet and peace. Mostly it is used in a positive sense, as in, this is something God is giving to you. But not here.

To be at ease is a gift from God. The problem shows up in the next phrase, “those who feel complacent on the hills of Shomron…” That word in Hebrew means ‘to trust in’…to put confidence in. That’s the issue. Honeycutt says, “Confidence had been placed in the political structures of the day rather than in the One who had led Israel forth from Egypt in the beginning.” Wow. This hits home as I am dealing with confusion and sadness over the state of affairs in our nation in this week following our recent election.

We talked a lot of politics with Wesley, and then a little in our short visit with my brother and his wife in Louisville, KT. That helped me process. I have felt so discouraged; grieved even. My trust is broken—in the media—in the political process—in the capacity to not be vilified because I am one of the 70+million people, half of the country, that voted for Trump. But then, it is foolish to ‘trust in’ political structures or particular people.

Amos 6 goes on to skewer us with verses that blast the Israelites for lounging around on ivory couches, drinking wine out of bowls and using expensive skin products…just going to be honest here. How am I to assimilate these verses as I bump along down the highway in my cute little RV? All I know to do is pray, “Holy Spirit, what does this mean to me? What are you saying to me right now?”

Honeycutt says, “From the Old Testament point of view what was wrong, with the exception of OVERINDULGENCE, in the existence of ivory couches, meat on the menu, the making of music, the drinking of wine, or anointing with oil? The answer is, ‘Nothing!’ At least there was nothing wrong on the surface. The contention of Amos was… primarily …the unconcern shown for others by those who so indulged themselves. ” (6:6b)

God provides context.

Meanwhile, as the miles passed underneath our wheels, I was communicating with Judith Mutange, of Great Mercy Orphanage in Kenya. We have the privilege of helping them here and there. This is not an excuse so that we can go lounge around in the lap of luxury. But it is some kind of a tether to a larger reality. A way to keep from becoming completely self-absorbed.

Trip details: We had a great time with Wesley–he gave us a tour of Purdue, taught us a new card game, cooked for us and provided great conversation.

Early Sunday morning we left for Louisville, Ky to have a lovely breakfast with my brother, Bill and Barbara, my sister-in-law.

I had a much better picture of them, but I tried to upload pictures on the road, and, note to self: never try that again! One bump and I accidently erased ALL the pictures on my SD card. ALL.

From Louisville, we drove to the Ark Encounter:

And then on to our stop for the night at a the Valley Vineyard and Brewery in Morrow, Ohio, where we ate a delicious dinner and parked for the night.

Monday we headed out very early so that we could have dinner with our friends, David and Jennifer Hinders, in Fairfax, Virginia. What a treat to see the Hinders, who were both in our wedding a thousand years ago in Israel.

Finally, Fredericksburg, where cuteness and noise abound. The Walker clan encompasses 5 of our grandchildren, 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 goats and ducks.

That is all for now…and quite enough!

God bless! Eyes on Jesus!