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In one direction is the Sea of Galilee, in another is the Golan Heights, and in another is the Jordan Valley. All my life, I had heard these names in Bible stories and occasionally in the news. He mentioned 1948, and I, in my naivete, said, “There must have been something righteous about 1948.”
The car stopped, and in an angry, frustrated voice, he said, “Righteous?! 530 Arab villages were destroyed. They killed men, women and children. There were massacres, rapes, 750,000 people were forced out of their homes. The Jews now plant trees over these destroyed villages to cover the evidence!”
I had never heard this before. None of this. This was Earth-shaking to me. “I have never heard this. Please tell me.” I asked, but he was angry. I heard the Spirit remind me to listen. I heard his anger, his disappointment, and how alone it must feel for large portions of the population to be so ignorant of this severe trauma of his people and family.
Lani Lanchester believes in taking every good opportunity, which has given her many great adventures. In her career, she has been an Agricultural Biologist, an IPM Program Coordinator, a pastry chef, a costume designer, a beekeeper, an Airbnb host, and currently she is teaching high school science. She has taught biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science, engineering, architecture, and health. Lani loves to garden, hike, and take long road trips, but she believes that we are best defined by our relationships.
Lani is the daughter of kind, Christian parents, the mother of two insightful, talented women, and a sister, a friend, and a teacher, but her greatest love is Jesus. Lani leans on God’s loving support through this complicated life. In response to God’s loving kindness, Lani is called to a life of blessing others, speaking truth, seeking peace and loving life (Psalms 34:12-14). Lani’s greatest adventures are yet to happen.
I wrote “Learning to Listen to Palestine” because hope exists. Current events are bleak, sad, and seemingly hopeless, however, as I took a profoundly personal journey, something remarkable happened. I went through stages of confusion, doubt, and personally reexamining what I thought I knew, and I discovered a story of hope that should shine like the sun but has been mostly overlooked.
It all started when I was getting ready to go to Israel by myself on a road trip tour of Israel. As I was preparing to go, I read about Shireen Abu Akleh. Shireen was almost exactly my age, 51 years old. She was a Palestinian Christian who earned her citizenship in the United States. She went to school here and worked here, but she returned to Israel and Palestine to report on what was happening between Israelis and Palestinians. She covered the conflict for 25 years.
We are taught to love our neighbor as ourselves. Let us build our neighborhood together. Listening is the first step in loving and healing. Love and healing are needed for peace.
I help people learn to listen to others so that they can become peacemakers.
You are brave and courageous yet humble enough to listen. That is what describes your personality. A compassionate listener. So rare these days.
You are brave and courageous yet humble enough to listen. That is what describes your personality. A compassionate listener. So rare these days.
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