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| Sunrise @ Dubai |
Had hit the hay so late last night and have greeted the morning light at brunch time. Thank God it's Friday! It is weekend here in Dubai and almost everyone's at rest. Started my day with; of course, coffee and a homemade burger. Did the laundry and clean a bit. My place is not that of a hard work to polish; thanks to my roomie who, apparently, is as paranoid as I am, when it comes to joggling our room upside down in cleaning up. So as I was going to and fro hanging out my clothes outside terrace, I have noticed bits of dirt and feathers of pigeons in my upper bunk bed. I climbed up to have them removed, but my eyes caught the presence of the Bible that's just sitting there since the time I transferred to this apartment. Nostalgic as I was; haven't opened a Bible since, errrr, time immemorial. Guilty here. Anyhow, so I decided to randomly open it and thought of whatever page my hands and eyes land into, that's God's message of the day for me; as how people in Facebook do. And, I got this:
Old Testament
Nehemia 2:11-20
And I went on to Jerusalem, and for three days I did not tell anyone what God had inspired me to do for Jerusalem. Then in the middle of the night I got up and went out, taking a few of my companions with me. The only animal we tool was the donkey that I rode on. It was still night as I left the city through the valley Gate on the west and went south past through Dragon's Fountain to the Rubbish Gate. As I went, I inspected the broken walls of the city and the gates that have been destroyed by fire. Then on the east side of the city, I went north to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool. The donkey I was riding could not find any path through the rubble, so I went down into the Kidron Valley and rode along, looking at the wall. Then I returned the way I come and went back into the city through the Valley Gate
None of the local officials knew where I had gone or what I had been doing. So far I had not said anything to any of my fellow Jews - the priests, the leaders, the officials, or anyone else who would be taking part of the work. But now I said to them, "See what trouble we are in because Jerusalem is in ruins and its gates are destroyed! Let's rebuild the city walls and put an end to our disgrace." And I told them how God had been with me and helped me, and what the emperor had said to me.
They responded, "Let's start rebuilding!" And they got ready to start the work.
When Sanballat, Tobiah, and an Arab named Geshem heard what were planning to do, they laughed at us and said, "What do you think you're doing? Are you going to rebel against the emperor?"
I answered, "The God of heaven will give us success. We are his servants, and we are going to start building. But you have no right to any property in Jerusalem, and you have no share in its traditions."
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I am just not very sure but I think I had this message as well when we had this Senacle back home. It was almost the same, as I remember it, it has also Jerusalem and talked of travel.
Anyway, so it is about going to another place again. Is it just coincidence that I always end up with passages, quotes or messages about travelling when I look for one? As I was also brought to the page 45 of the 1st Book of Game of Thrones, Fire and Ice which says, "Come to the south with me, and I'll teach you how to laugh again."
So, is there a traveler trapped within me who can't anymore take the stagnancy of the bearer? Whom, by random quotes and messages wanted to come out and be attended to? And, how about this rebuilding? Am I to rebuild anybody else's life? Or, mine's? Uhm. Let's see. Let's see.
