“And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.” Isa_42:16
“To the right, that’s the one.”
“Watch out! You almost hit that bus on the left.”
“Don’t pull too far to the right, you’ll go over the edge into the valley.”
“Oh look at that cute kitty-cat by the wall!”
“You’ve got to drive up that road to go down.”
“No, it’s down that way to get up.”
“What is that windmill doing there?”
“You can’t make a U-Turn here,”
“We’re all going to die.”
We are traveling along the Southern face the Old City Wall of Jerusalem, Lord. You are very familiar with it. We are not.
A friend has invited us to tour the campus of Jerusalem University College and gave me driving directions on how to get to the site. “It’s very simple, from the Jaffa gate go east,” he said in our phone conversation. I had to keep reminding myself he walks everywhere, so everything is a compass point. Street signs and large-scope landmarks mean nothing to him.
“So, you’re saying we will turn right from Hativat Road onto Derech Hevron?” I try to translate.
"Maybe," he says. “Just follow the wall down the valley until it stops. Then you’ll be here.
The comedy ensues as my three car-companions attempt helpful insights they believe helpful to the cause of locating the nefarious End-O-Wall which never reveals itself. We literally drive into what Locals call Hell, also know as the valley of Gehenna. It’s not in much better condition today as it was in ancient times – perhaps less smoke and refuse, certainly more crazy drivers trying to nudge us, not so kindly out of their way and off the precipice.
I finally find a place on the narrow goat-path of a road to pull over and call our friend. “We can’t find the end of the wall,” I blurt in frustration.
“Where are you?” He queries.
“The road signs read Mt. Zion and Hamerfaked. Are we close?”
“Maybe,” he says. “I don’t look at street signs.”
Lord, you have taught me in such circumstances to retrace my steps and search out my origins, so we fumble our way back up to the Jaffa Gate and re-call our friend to begin the quest again.
“Do you see the Jaffa Gate?” He inquires blindly from the cell-phone.
“Yes, We are on the ramp coming down from the Gate and we are about to turn onto the main road.”
“Main road? Don’t do that. You need to turn at the path before the road.”
“What?” I look more carefully and discover a very, VERY narrow lane, even tighter than what natives call the main artery weaving down to the south. The tiny sidewalk of a road parallels the main, but ascends up the mountain, not down, hugging much closer to the actual Old City Wall. Carefully avoiding the pedestrian traffic that floods our way, we can now easily see ahead of us, our longed for objective; End-O-Wall.
Peeling my fingers off of the steering wheel, taking a deep cleansing breath and exiting the vehicle, I look over the edge of the hill we have just traveled up, to see the path below where we had been hopelessly lost. The humor woven into your teachable moment strikes me immediately.
When receiving instructions from one another, we forget that each of us comes from different locations, traveling different routes, taught through different methods of different cultures. We all assume that others see the world, its pathways and nuances, from exactly the same perspective as we do, at a specific moment in time. In truth, one who may offer great advice and direction to me, may do so from a land and a place in that land, completely different from my own, so that even the tiniest gap
in their detailing may lead to a catastrophic need for correction.
Master, you remind me that I need at all times to carry along my spiritual compass and map…your word, in order to navigate the twists and turns that the world throws my way. It’s better of course for me to study (and restudy and restudy again) that map, and also to reach out to you for wise council before the journey begins and as it unfolds.
And then there’s the arrival…whether well traveled or obtained with many trail-trials. Let me not forget that your instructions are very clear and that it is my own perceptions and misconceptions interfering with the navigation. I want to thank you, for seeing me through, patiently to your desired objective for me.
Lord, this End-O-Wall is, as always, just another beginning of a new path. Thank you for helping me and my companions discover and weave through the beauty of our travels together. Continue to remind us to be sensitive to others who may be struggling on similar paths, helping them to find the true map and compass that will see them safely to your loving arms.
Mark C
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