On a Sunday in January, traveling down the Nile from Aswan to Luxor, I am having a bad day. Perhaps it's the accumulated lack of sleep after several early morning trips to temples. Perhaps it's the overcast skies and fog, reminiscent of home. Perhaps it's having free time and being at loose ends. Perhaps it's … Continue reading Unloved →

It's been a long, long time since I knelt beside my bed and prayed with full faith, asking the Lord my soul to keep. My prayers were never answered and I abandoned God by the time I was 10 years old. I reconsidered faith regularly: when I first studied world religions in high school, when … Continue reading Faith in the Holy Land →

Where is home? In Israel and Palestine, that is a complicated and difficult question. Walls run everywhere. They cut neighbourhoods, divide farmers from their land. We pass easily through checkpoints but many cannot pass at all. Families hold keys to houses that they have not seen for 70 years. People cannot be citizens in a … Continue reading Sorrow and Love: defining Home in the Middle East →

I've learned since my last trip, Walking By Myself (with a really heavy suitcase). This time my bag weighted 25 pounds instead of 50 and my carry-on was 7 pounds, not 20! It's not just the physical baggage that's lighter. So is my heart. After months of prepping for my new future, I'm finally living … Continue reading Traveling Light →