Delight yourself in the Lord; and he will give you the desires of the heart.
—Psalm 37:4
Have you
ever wanted something and thought it would never happen, but then it did
happen? God puts longings in our hearts so he can fulfill them.
*~*~*~*~*~
From Seventh Dimension – The Door, a Young Adult
Christian Fantasy:
“Can you
read that stuff?”
“Sure,”
Rachel laughed. “But I don’t know what it means. You could too if I taught
you.” Rachel flipped to the first page. “You start on this side.” Her finger
pointed to a line of Hebrew and she ran her finger across the page from right
to left.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Rachel giggled. “So who reads backwards, the English or the Jews?”
“I’d say
the Jews. I can say that since I’m not Jewish, right?”
“Why not?”
“Writing
would sure be easier if English were right to left. I wouldn’t smear my words.”
Rachel
nodded. “I forget you’re left-handed. It’s crazy, isn’t it—like the Brits drive
on the left side and we drive on the right.”
We walked
for a while not saying anything. I glanced at my friend with her striking olive
skin, almond brown eyes, and brown hair. “Do you like being Jewish?”
“Yes, I
guess. I don’t know any different.”
“I wish I
was Jewish.”
“Why?”
Rachel asked.
“It would
be neat to be able to say I was something.”
—Shale
Snyder and Rachel Franco, chapter one
*~*~*~*~*~*
Oftentimes, we’re not aware of the
depth of our longing until fulfillment. Then we realize, that’s what we wanted.
God
fulfilled Shale’s longing by taking her to the homeland of the Jewish people.
She met the king firsthand; not only that, she met a man with whom she fell in
love.
When I
graduated from high school, my senior class took a seven-day cruise to the
Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. On the last night, the band
played into the wee hours of the morning, like the band did on the Titanic the night it sank into the
Atlantic. When the party began to wind down, the musicians started playing
Jewish music. The tourists who weren’t Jewish cleared out and congregated
around the edges of the dance floor to watch the Jews sing and dance.
What would it
be like to be Jewish? I found it astounding that Jews from the entire world shared
so much in common through their culture—their music, their dance, and their
language.
The Jewish
people have survived thousands of years of persecution in many countries and
near annihilation in World War II. Yet they still make a joyful noise unto the
Lord. More than that, my Lord and my Savior, Jesus Christ, was Jewish. I cried
in my heart, “I want what they have—I want to be part of something greater than
myself. I want to be part of a spiritual family. I want to be Jewish!”
In early
grammar school, I attended Margaret Mitchell School in Atlanta, Georgia. My
classmates were predominantly Jewish—and wealthy. My Jewish friends faithfully
attended Hebrew classes a couple of times each week. I felt spiritually
deprived. My family wasn’t Christian or Jewish. What did that make me?
I sometimes
wonder if I am Jewish and don’t know it. Names have been changed through the
centuries, so it’s possible. Often when I am around Jewish people, my spirit
quickens.
That night so
long ago, as I watched the Jews celebrate, my eyes were opened to a spiritual
and cultural relationship for which I longed.
Twenty-two
years later, I had my opportunity. I was finishing my senior year of
undergraduate studies and had an opportunity to travel to the Holy Land. While
there, I scuba dived in Eilat, but I didn’t get to dance.
Then, one
day I was sitting in the Jewish Student Center with a University of Florida
student who was helping me with my Hebrew language class. Celebratory music
wafted through the walls. I soon heard shouts and cheers.
My student
friend paused and said, “Every Thursday night, all the Jewish students come here
to Beth Hillel to dance.”
“Can anyone
join them?” I asked
She
replied, “I don’t see why not.”
Guess where
I was the next week? I introduced myself, made it clear I wasn’t Jewish, but I
loved Jewish music. For the next few years, every Thursday night, I danced with
my Jewish friends. Only when the rabbi and his talented wife/teacher moved away
did my Jewish dancing end.
Sometimes
when we want something that’s worthy of God’s love, he gives us more than we
ask because he is a God of love.
Thank you, Jesus, for answered
prayers. And those that you don’t answer the way I had hoped, thank you that you
know what’s best for me. Help me to know myself the way you know me. Help me to
give you my desires so that you can sanctify them for your glory. Amen.