If I were to ask you to conjure up in your imagination your version of "the east" I might get a different response depending on who you are. Some of my chinese friends might speak of their origins in the "far east". My baltic friends might mention the eastern block. To me, the first thing that pops to the front of my thoughts is Canada's east coast.
Ahhh, the maritimes. There's nothing like the salt air and constant breeze of the east coast. If you've never been to any of the maritime provinces in Canada, you owe it to yourself to make the trip. There's a tangible difference in the way people interact here. The speediness of city life gives way to a much broader stroke of the brush. In this particular instant, Halifax Nova-Scotia is our stop - and we'll be here a few extra days to take in the sights and sounds of the ocean with close friends who have moved here recently.
I have a fondness for the east as this is where I decided life could not be done well if attempted alone, and asked Jesus to lead me on. (I was actually in St. John's Newfoundland, but that's also "east" and maritime). I can recall in my very early days as a believer, going to the rock beaches along the east coast alone and thinking, "in this vastness Oh Lord, You still found me? Amazing." The ocean is a great reminder of how something so seamless and wide can bring people together in amazing ways.
Michelle and I are blessed. It's amazing that we get these opportunities to travel. We don't take it for granted. And one day, when we've moved on from this place to travel to wherever God takes us when we go, I have a sneaky suspicion that there'll be something vast and fruitful to bring us together like the oceans, waiting for us there.
J.