Contented Musings: my travel backpack

For hospitality on the go. Plus maps and miles.

photo courtesy of Bergman’s of Norway

Well, we are over half way through our adventure. The longings for home grow greater and require a shift in rhythms we’ve developed here to help us stay present and content. I’m confident there are still more gifts to receive and since I’ve figured out and settled in to shorter market days (Thanks be to God!), I can prayerfully focus on what we need for these new rhythms.

As I think about my role here-to educate, manage, care for and provide hospitality- and I myself am looking for beauty to keep me grounded here for three more months, I’ve been looking for beauty in the simple things that help me accomplish my job. My travel backpack immediately comes to mind.

Friends, this thing has been everywhere with me. You’ll have to pry it off my back when we get home. While it doesn’t look like anything spectacular (the “pretty” ones I looked at before purchasing were either too expensive or not suitable for my needs), I find a lot of beauty in it when I think about the various ways it has helped me provide hospitality on the go. My backpack functions as a travel bag, a grocery bag, an overnight bag and each role it has played has helped me expand- which I’ve come to realize lately is THE definition of my calling.

My travel backpack hauls food that I make into meals. It carries toilet paper that improves the quality of life and has literally saved the day.

It has provided medicine that took away headaches, water that quenched thirst, snacks that helped a certain little one do hard things (walking for miles when you’re five is a HARD task). It has carried the sunscreen that protected the skin of my favorite people.

I’ve utilized the side pocket for wipes that keep precious hands clean. The main compartment carries sweaters to keep my people warm and umbrellas to keep them dry. The back interior pocket holds my journal which hold my memories. The strap fits my phone that keeps me connected.

I mark on a map the locations of where we have been, updating it after every trip. Here is what the map looks like currently:

My backpack has been to every location, loaded to the max almost every time.

I find it amusing to calculate how many miles we walk in a given week. Most of those miles, my trusty backpack has adorned me like the shell of a turtle. To give some context, during Holy Week alone we walked 38.85 miles.

It’s only a backpack, but you see it’s way more than a backpack. Isn’t it beautiful?

Two field trips happened recently to report to you.

The first trip was on the Wednesday of Holy Week. We went to a vineyard, learning about ancient methods for making wine.

Then we went to the Biblical Museum of Natural History where the animals we saw included, but weren’t limited to, animals mentioned in the Bible. Most of the family enjoyed holding exotic creatures like chameleons, pythons and naked rats, while the rest of us squirmed and kept a safe distance away!

We spent the rest of the afternoon in a forest reserve on a beautiful hike.

The second and most recent trip happened just this past Friday and it was a favorite! We took a day trip to the Dead Sea.

There are four things you must do when you are there…

Float.

Exfoliate.

Fill your pockets with salt crystals.

And sing!

Here’s to new rhythms, many more miles, and gratitude for all things… even a backpack.