Holiday Travel

While I travel place to place over this holiday and make even more plans for MORE travel to visit far-flung friends and family, a small thought occurred to me: a comparison of my own holiday travels to that of Yeshua/Jesus. Granted I don't know if Hanukkah was a holiday that involved travel of any great distances, especially in the cooler weather, I recall He did travel for Jewish holidays when possible, including a visit to Jerusalem for the Passover.

The gatherings and travel in those days may not have been that different from our own travels today, with the exception of less worn footwear:

• There were plans to be made well in advance of the holiday.
• Word had to be sent ahead that one would be traveling and would need a place to stay.
• Packing had to be done, and figuring out what had to stay back because it just wouldn't fit.
• Plans needed to be made for the business or work that would not be done while one was away for the holiday.
• Along the journey, there were "pit-stops", crying children, quarrels, laughter, and long conversations.
• Journeys done "in caravan" (a term we still use today) with family and/or friends were always more fun and easier to take.
• Sometime overnight accommodations needed to be made en route, because the longer journeys could not be done in one day.
• While traveling, one would eat meals with others around you who were complete strangers. One may even share a brief conversation with those seated nearby.
• There can also be moments of tedium when stories or games could help while away the hours.
• When one arrived, greetings from much-loved but little-seen friends and family rang beautiful in the ears. Hours would be spent "catching up."

When I was a child, we had long journeys to visit family on the holidays and we played traffic-bingo, I-spy, and word games such as naming places that started with the last letter of the last place-name mentioned. We had conversations and recalled stories of bygone days. There was also my parent's favorite game - "Who can stay quiet the longest?" (For some reason, I never won that game. LoL) We ate lunch in diners, restaurants or fast-food establishments, and stayed at hotels en route to the place. When we arrived, we slept on couches or sleeping bags on the floor; we stayed up half the night catching up with aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins.
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When I originally traveled solo by air, I would converse with fellow travelers both at the airports and on the plane. Now...
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I travel with my laptop and paperback to read. There are portable DVD players, smart phones, portable video games, and many more distractions. We do not talk with fellow travelers - whether they are strangers or even our own immediate family. Even during a visit, it's hard NOT to take some time to check email, go online, or get some work done. This is pretty sad as that is what connects us: these shared face-to-face moments together, retelling our past, planning our future, and meeting new people.
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Things are done so fast, so far apart, so ... separate...
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This holiday - and I need to do this too (considering I'm blogging on the breakfast table) - maybe we can all spare some more time re-connecting to those around us face-to-face, whether friend, family or stranger. Golden moments that can last across generations.
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- ESA