Responses from Others (and ourselves)

It's interesting to see how varied the responses are when individuals hear that Charlie and I are planning to make Aliyah.  My minister friends are excited for us.  They mention a desire to visit us in the Holy Land and to explore the area together. Many of my Jewish friends are happy for us but sad we will be leaving the community that has been our home for nearly 47 years.  Some of them think Israel will be a hard nut to crack!  They are concerned that at our age the ability to acclimate to new surroundings will be difficult.  Family members have mixed reactions.  Some are thinking they will never see us again and others are already planning to take us up on our "open door policy."

Although there are times in life when what others think seems very important, I must say that I am not inclined to think that way now.  I of course like hearing when people are excited for us, but I am of the belief that it is more important for the two of us to listen to one another about our fears and the love of Israel that are motivating this change.

The one thing I know for sure is that the future is always unknown. I have faith that this is the correct move at the correct time to the correct place.  Not everything we do in life is within our comfort zone, but sometimes the most meaningful parts of our life come from the times we've ventured beyond sheer comfort.  May this be the case for us at this time as well.

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