The last few days I’ve been at home waiting out the snowstorm here in Colorado. Quiet, but productive days at home seem difficult to come by these days. Too often I have days filled with running errands, making appointments, and social luncheons. A snow day turned out to be a blessing for me. Recently, I was reminded by a friend that I had not posted for quite some time. I checked and it’s been six months since my last entry.
In an attempt to resume more of a routine blogging schedule, I combed through memories of visits to Jerusalem. I hope you enjoy this repeat of a blog from several years ago:
This morning I logged onto one of my bookmarked favorite sites: Live Western Wall Camera at Aish.com. It reminded me of my visits to Jerusalem, which always included trips to the Temple Mount. Each time is memorable and unique. The first time is always the most memorable and I talk about it in my book, On Our Own in Jerusalem’s Old City.. That particular visit to the Temple Mount included some confusion about being in the Dome of the Rock when my friend, Jan Buntrock, and I discovered that we were actually in the Al Aksa Mosque, so much for informed American tourists (We were students at Jerusalem University College). The second time I visited Jerusalem I walked over to the Western Wall from the Cardo. It was a year later and my mother and my husband enjoyed a leisurely lunch while I itched to get over to the Wall. They finally agreed that I should go and could be excused. I was surprised how easily I remembered the way. This time I felt an urgency to pray at the Western Wall in particular. What I had to say to God I wanted to say at the Wall.
My greatest desire was to stand in front of the Western Wall on that day to pray and to place notes in the Wall for my friends. Just standing before the monumental Wall, feeling the presence of the Lord, and meditating on His grace gave me a glorious peace. I felt like I was home at last. I sighed in complete contentment as I prayed and stuffed written prayers in the Wall for friends and relatives. Even today, they have no idea that their names are wedged in cracks in the Holy Wall half way around the world.
Why make a special trip to the Wall of the Temple Mount? “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37). Jesus loved Jerusalem. He wept over Jerusalem. He longed to gather its inhabitants together under His wings of love and protection. God chose Jerusalem as the holy city in which He would reside in the Temple on the Temple Mount. Believers were expected to come here at least three times a year to celebrate feasts of the Lord. God wanted His people to join Him here. When I’m in Jerusalem I feel like I’m in His hometown. Whether I’m at the Wall or on the Temple Mount I feel like I’m at His front door. My prayers constitute my sacrifice as I lay my soul before Him. Because of the holiness of those moments, I like to use my prayer book and pray prayers of praise in Hebrew. Over the years I have prayed in many different places throughout the world, and sometimes in desperate situations. However, my worship times at the Wall are precious and deeply moving, some of the best of times with my God.
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