Religious Tolerance

Shouldn't there be religious tolerance? After all this is the year 2010! But there are still people who feel that what they believe is the ONLY answer. I am floored by things like this! My son was baptized Presbyterian & attended Catholic high school. My beautiful son is the picture of pure tolerance and freedom. My son wants to be a Jew.

I was totally taken aback by a friend when upon learning this fact actually had emailed me:
I think that would totally crush me if my son renounced Jesus as the Son of God. You seem to be taking it well- much, much better than I would. I would be totally freaked out! Oh yeah and she added 4 "wow"s to make a point. Well that was very opened minded of you my friend. Thank you! BLEH! Truthfully, the only thing that freaked me out was HER! I do not even want to imagine what she thinks about same sex marriage or people's right to choose how they live based solely on that person's own right and beliefs and choices! I wonder what she really thinks of ME. After all I got pregnant outside of marriage and raised my son as a single mom! She makes it sound like he wants to become a cannibal or club baby bunnies! He just wants to worship and love. Why would I ever be freaked out by that?

We turned a new century 10 years ago now but I still think there are some out there who would be burning people at the stake for not conforming to what THEY think is right and proper. People have died protecting this country, to make it what it is, a land where everyone is free to believe what they will. And yes, that includes people like my friend who think that only what they believe is the right thing. She has a right to believe what she will but I do not think that is tolerance or peace. I am sad for people like that. Open up your minds and your hearts. After all, Jesus was a JEWISH carpenter ♥

Let There Be Peace

I sit here at 8:30 in the morning and my son is a world away and it is 5:30 in the evening. He has been flying for over 10 hours to get to a place he has dreamed of since he was very young. Israel. The Internet has been a source of information to me about his flight. I can log on and see a little map of where the plane is at this very moment. Or yesterday for both legs of his trip how very late his flights were. The flight from STL to Newark was delayed over an hour due to weather. The flight from Newark to Tel Aviv was delayed over an hour for maintanence. Which just means I have been staring at airline pages for hours the past day. Worrying and praying.

I must make myself stop looking at the Internet and searching for pages of news from Israel. It just makes me crazy. There is unrest in Jerusalem. Of course the last 5 nights of his trip Ryan stays in, yes folks, Jerusalem. Most of the trouble has been at Temple Mount...you know Wailing Wall, Mosques, all the things he has dreamed of seeing. The place they are supposed to spend all day next Friday.

It is all perspective I realize. People can read about awful things happening in North St. Louis and even though I live in St. Louis I that does not mean the bad things are everywhere or widespread or near me. Oh Jesus I love this child. Please keep him safe from all harm.

I need to stay away from the Internet or it is going to make me sick. But I can't. In some insane way it makes me feel like I am protecting him. But I know all the protection is from above. God...and my dad. ♥ I know he is right there taking care of my son. Thanks Dad I know you will do a great job. Please let there be peace.

My Son is Living His Dream.

As I type this my son's plane should be taking off from St. Louis to Newark where he will catch a connecting flight to Tel Aviv and spend his spring break in Israel. He was supposed to take off 50 minutes ago but thanks to the Internet I can tell his fight was delayed.

It is hard to let go and let your kids go off on adventures. Going to Israel is a dream for my son. But as I sit here reading reports on the news about Israel closing the West Bank due to fears of violence and I know that the places they are putting restrictions on include all of the places he is longing to go to next Friday it is hard for a me to just breathe.

How do mothers send their children off to war? How did pioneers do it? How did cavemen women do it? Long ago when your child walked out the front door more times than not the mother never knew what became of them. How did they do that?

My son does not get homesick. He does not travel with a laptop or a cell phone. I will not hear his voice until next Sunday when I pick him up at the airport. Which is 8 days, 208 hours, 12539 minutes and some seconds from now....yes I have it programed into a countdown clock! Who wouldn't? Doesn't everyone do this?

I will be on my knees daily praying for God to protect my son. I will think of him every moment and I will try to breathe. And I will continue to wonder just how a lifetime of mothers watched their children walk out the door and smiled when they sent them off on their big adventures into the world. I will wonder how were they able to hide their tears? ♥