Traveling Thoughts

You've Got Mail

Through April and May, Jarrod and I continued our trip through the Holy Land. We saw the stars over Bethlehem, looked out over the sea of Galilee from the Mount of Beatitudes, walked through the streets of ancient Capernaum and were baptised in the Jordan river. We floated in the Dead Sea, saw 10,000 year old steps at Jericho and climbed Mount Nebo to see Moses’ last view of the promised land. We literally walked the bible and it was unbelievable. To see the words on the page jump up around you and come to life. It’s amazing that the bible is so literal!

We then spent a whirlwind few weeks travelling down the coast of Turkey and across to Greece and her beautiful islands (it’s a tough life!). We saw the ruins of the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, we stood in the great theatre where Paul delivered a sermon and caused a riot (Acts 19:23-41)! We ate our fill of Gyros (think doner kebab) and sunbaked on many a deserted beach.

And now we’re in London. We have a cute little studio flat, two umbrellas and huge smiles on our faces. We’ve seen Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, the Thames and even Prince Harry. And for the first time in eight months everyone speaks English!

But all this settling down has made me a little homesick, made me realise how much I miss having girls around! I love my husband to bits, and coming away together was the best thing we’ve ever done. But he’s not a girl, clearly, and there’s something about girl-friends that’s unique. Girls ‘get’ each other in a way that boys just can’t. And more than that, the sisterhood (or shimmer-hood) at Pittwater is so extraordinary, so special. In all my travels I’m yet to come across anything quite like it! Pittwater girls genuinely care about each other; I’ve received so many little encouragements from you all in the last nine months. It’s hard being so far from home and you guys make the load a little lighter, so a big (tear filled) thank you.

I told my good friend Allie about my homesickness and she came up with a brilliant plan. We’d write letters. Not emails, but letters. Don’t get me wrong, emails are great, they’re instant and free and fantastic if you’re in a hurry. But they can be impersonal; they can make you feel obliged to reply straight away. With a letter you can take your time, it’s not going to get there for a few days anyway. A letter is from the heart. You send your hopes with a letter, in your own hand writing, in your own time.

And receiving a letter? Well it’s like Christmas morning! Something special that’s just for you. And you know the other person has spent time preparing it for you alone. It’s another instalment of a conversation that may take (blissful) years to complete. It gives you a glimpse of their heart, their life, and it makes you feel so special knowing that they’ve let you in.

Letters have become a lifeline for me. I don’t feel so far away when I’m reading a letter from home. I feel connected again. I now understand why the people in the bible wrote such long letters to each other (and no it wasn’t the lack of good broadband). It was because in our world of constant change and upheaval, letters are a way to reaffirm our friendship and connections with each other.

I wonder now what the reply might have been... “Thanks for your letter Paul, all is well here, Joseph (the baker Joseph not the butcher Joseph) is still really riled up about your last letter, I’ve tried talking him though it but to no avail. Any advice? Yes, yes I know pray. But apart from prayer?? I feel so inadequate.”

It may sound silly, but after walking where Jesus and his disciples walked, seeing what they saw, eating what they ate, I’ve realised that these were real people, with real hopes and fears, real flesh and blood, not just good characters from a story. And one of the ways that they connected with each other was through the letter. 2000 years later the worldwide postal service has only improved.

It seems to me that for all the wonderful advances technology has made in our lives, sometimes it leaves us feeling isolated. I mean why go down the street for a coffee with a friend when you can talk to them on Facebook. Why make a phone call when you can send them an email from your iPhone. In fact why contact them at all, just update your Twitter page and they can read about your life for themselves. They’ll still get the message won’t they? What’s the difference? The difference is that God designed us to be relational, not technological, and the last time I tried to send a hug through MSN it came up with a cute cartoon, not two arms wrapped lovingly around my friend.

So from someone far away who can’t make it into Mona Vale for a coffee right now, a hand written, heart-felt, love filled letter is the very next best thing. But for all of you who can, I urge you to cherish that opportunity to reconnect with your sisters (and brothers) and perhaps even drop a little note in their mailbox on the way home.

Lucinda Castaing

Visit Lu and Jarrod at http://blog.jarrodcastaing.com
To find out my postal address drop me an email (quick, instant and free) and I’ll be happy to let you know.