March 14, 2010As we wait for our midnight transport to Mount Sinai, and to begin a two-hour drive and three-hour hike, I reflect on the pilgrimage aspect of our time in Egypt. We arrived this morning in Sharm el-Sheikh after driving all night through the desert. In the dark we could not see the miles before us, but this morning on our final two hours into Sharm el-Sheikh I imagined walking through such vast territory of barren land. After the second flat tire on the bus, we could have been stranded in the middle of the desert surrounded by mountains. Luckily another bus going in the same direction rescued us. We crowded in and stood the rest of the way.
On another bus to Dahab, bringing us closer to our goal of visiting St. Catherine’s Monastery and Mount Sinai, another hour of winding through the desert and mountains, land absent of green, I thought about the Exodus, about spending 40 years in the desert looking for the promised land, about Christ’s 40 days in the desert, about our own 40 days of Lent.
Our journey in the desert provides time to think, time to listen to God’s call.
Originally we planned to go directly from Sharm el-Sheikh to the monastery and to Mount Sinai, but we ended up in Dahab, a popular draw for backpackers and divers. This unexpected stop, in what once was a Bedouin fishing village, works as a perfect place to arrange the next step of our pilgrimage. The added bonus - the quiet and tranquil environment the area provides for reflection.
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