The Sojourner

And you shall make a response before the Lord your God, A wandering Aramean was my father; and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. Deuteronomy 26:5  

And you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you. Deuteronomy 26: 11 

I recently read several devotions related to the Jewish festival of the First Fruits. I decided to look up the word sojourner which means a person who resides temporarily in a land that is not their own - a foreigner, exile, alien. I have met the definition of a sojourner several times in my life. The first was a summer long mission trip with 23 other college students from around the country to Troy, NY. There I experienced a historic community with characters like Uncle Sam and Emma Willard, very limited green space for children to play and lots of concrete with row houses, being fed by the community churches (lots of pasta), and main line denominational churches closing or uniting with other churches related to changing communities and populations.

My second sojourn was to my first social work job in Milwaukee. For the first time I experienced distinctly divided neighborhoods related to race, chronic multigenerational poverty, ghettos, and the frustration of trying to meet the needs of many with very limited resources.

My third was moving from my hometown in Iowa to Nebraska. You would think that living in a neighboring state would be about the same, but I was so wrong. Of course, there was Husker mania - a real eye opener when the football team won or lost. Then there was the difference in the unicameral and politics, and visiting the sandhills - a desert in the middle of the state - became a priceless experience.

Being a sojourner in these places made me appreciate going home to a place that was welcoming and familiar. Where I knew old friends and family and knew which streets to drive on to get from here and there. The one constant I experienced in all the above was being with other Christians and church families and knowing that although I am a sojourner in this world, Jesus promises a forever home in heaven where I am no longer a sojourner.

Prayer: Thank you, Heavenly Father, for being with us as we wander through our lives here on earth. Thank you for all the blessings you have given to us, especially the gift of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen

Nancy Hall