Four days until the new, GIANT Tesco supermarket opens. This will be a huge convenience for our family and very welcome BUT I wonder if the tiny supermarket that now butts up to the Tesco rear parking lot will be able to make it. From what I can tell, it is a family-owned franchise and it is small, with a limited selection. Reminds me of Wal-Mart in America putting the little guys out of business....... This morning I walked to the another supermarket, the Rema 1000, so I could get some Tide (more laundry to do......) and welcomed the thought of a closer place to stock up.
What does this have to do with The Holy Land? Our first trip to Rema 1000 was the day we arrived, and we took a walk to check out the supermarket and nearby pizza restaurant. We walked past rows of "Communist bloc" apartment buildings, none of which are any more remarkable than the next. The landscaping is haphazard, occasionally someone has made a little garden, but the trees are overgrown and the grass and weeds grow next to each other. I noticed the familiar shaped leaves and color of an olive tree. Who planted an olive tree in Bratislava? I don't believe this is a usual place - Central Europe - let alone in a city, next to a formerly public housing project. Even more surprising, I saw olives growing on the branches. The tree is obviously in need of pruning and I doubt will be harvested, with the fruit taken to the local olive press to be made into oil for the use of any residents here.
One thought leads to another and I have found myself missing friends, acquaintances, landscape and the climate and history of Ramallah, Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Doug and even Justin mention longing for the best parts of belonging to that part of the world. I also long for the best parts but still cringe at the worst. Since arriving in Sovakia, our passports have been inspected only a few times: to open a bank account, purchase a mobile phone, drop Anya off to the Ikea play area. Some trips to Jerusalem from Ramallah were especially tedious, with our passports being inspected 3, even four times.
Just about one year ago we were harvesting olives with a family in Bethlehem. After learning the rich symbolism the olive tree has and the significance to family history and the land, I can never forget it. I think God has reminded me through this seemingly "random" olive tree in a most unlikely place to pray for peace and justice in The Holy Land. I hope some of you, my dear friends and family, can take a moment and pray for the same.
Carolyn
http://hartofeurope.blogspot.com
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