This region only receives direct sunlight one hour per day. We did not get to stay at the Monastery but we heard wonderful reviews from others who have. We observed the monastery and the valley from above on a cliff observatory area due to our arriving on a large tour bus.
This monastery is truly a remarkable place to visit in the wilderness. The monks will be open to visitors but you must be respectful and dress conservatively. The women in our group covered our hair for this visit.
- In the Valley of the Shadow () - IMDb.
- Sauerei im Schrebergarten (German Edition).
- Trusted teaching directly to your email inbox every day!
- Navigation menu.
There's also a well-marked path you can walk from the monastery to Jericho and contemplate the 23rd Psalm and the Parable of the Good Samaritan along the way. It was one of my favorite days on my month-long trip to the Holy Land. Bring plenty of water as it is quite hot! We did not go into the monastery but rather stopped across the ravine to look down. It truly looks like it's just hanging off the cliff and is quite scenic. Don't forget to look down into the Wadi to see the Aqueduct. If you are foreigner and love arabic culture, then a great start point is Jericho, AubergInn highly recommended.
Hike to the monastery starts at Herods winter palace which sounds more than it is, but anyway interesting , the very nicely kept foot path enters the valley at the right side upwards, or you can follow the small car road to the St. Georg bus parking on the left side of the valley There is a small natural "bath tub" there, where the first iron ladder comes walking from bottom , but only small and in February already salty probably in March gone.
People told me, that you need another 1. If you stay at AubergInn in Jericho highly recommended!
This is in the Valley of the Shadow - St. George's Monastery
And if you want to enter the church, you need a special permission from the Greek Patriarchate do not ask me how If you use public transport they have the extremely bizarre and disturbing system that the Israel lines stop on holiday weekdays Fr 2pm to Sat 6pm , and further the transport between Palestine cities and Jerusalem also is extremely hindered But Israel rental car from Jericho to Jerusalem on highway 1 is no problem at all, they always just "winked me through" I did it 3 times in the last 6 years. Sometimes I sat with him for a while, both of us staring into the distance. I joked with him that if we were in the s we could put some colorful bands around our heads and look "far out.
There is always a temptation to tread the unfamiliar territory of mental illness by relying on the comfort of set ideas. Besides, parents are often tempted by pietistic desires to look for tangible signs as a comfortable support for our weak faith. On the other hand, mental illness doesn't allow us to make comparisons. This is well expressed in a letter by John Newton, a close friend of William Cowper, who greatly struggled with mental illness for more on Cowper, see page We say such a building is a house, not only when it is tiled, painted and furnished, but while the walls are yet unfinished, while it is encumbered with rubbish and surrounded with scaffolds.
It would be well if both preachers and people would keep more closely to what the Scripture teaches of the nature, marks and growth of a work of grace instead of following each other in a track like sheep confining the Holy Spirit to a system; imposing at first the experience and sentiments of others as a rule to themselves, and afterward dogmatically laying down the path in which they themselves have been led, as absolutely necessary to be trodden by others. As soon as my son was diagnosed, I was handed a list of support groups for parents. They can certainly be useful in some situations, but the ones I attended were full of people with very few answers and who desperately wanted a way out.
The main question was, "How can I as a parent survive this?
In The Valley Of The Shadow — Ramos, Author
I am not saying their advice was categorically wrong. There are situations where a person with schizophrenia may not be able to stay home, especially when he or she refuses medications and when there are young children involved; but research has confirmed that schizophrenics under medical care recover much better in a supportive family environment.
Eventually, when my son nailed shut the door of his room and locked himself in there for days, he had to be taken to a hospital. A month later, when he was discharged, we were given the choice to take him back or send him to a halfway house. We welcomed him home, as our uneasiness and fears mingled with insuppressible love.
A friend and pastor with a schizophrenic son shared my feeling: Loving a person with schizophrenia is not easy. My son didn't usually want me to touch him and could be easily suspicious, to the point of interpreting a smile as a sneer. I learned to respect his legitimate wishes, to notice his nonverbal clues, and to be present without intruding. When I failed, I apologized to him and prayed my failures would not impact his healing. At the same time, I had to remind myself not to put any trust in my love but to see it as my simple duty.
Subscribe Now For 3 Gifts
Compassion came easier when I realized the challenges my son was facing. We all know how difficult it is to fight temptation when we are in stressful situations. People with schizophrenia have a much higher sensitivity to external stimuli, which they are often unable to compartmentalize and control.
Add to that the perception of external voices, day and night. I reminded myself of these things when I was frustrated with his behavior. With so little medical consensus on the causes and treatment of schizophrenia, it's imperative that parents educate themselves.
I read countless books, consulted experts, and watched my son carefully as I compared different opinions. I learned that it's important to establish a course of treatment, as imperfect as it may be, before even considering alternative or supplemental therapies.
Reading stories of other parents advocating for their children inspired me to keep fighting to facilitate his dealings both with medical professionals and common people. Twice my son was arrested and placed in jail because he looked "high," when in effect he was behaving as most people with schizophrenia would in a stressful situation. The support and prayers of my church family were invaluable. For a while, my pastor stopped at our house every week for a few rounds of chess with my son.
I know it meant a lot because my son prepared the chess board in anticipation. The pastor also announced to the congregation that if anyone was looking for a "ministry," there were plenty of opportunities to visit the widows, the shut-ins, and the sick, including those who are mentally ill. It might not be a glamorous ministry, but it's biblical and necessary. In fact, when I started to talk about my struggles with other people at church, I was surprised to discover how many of them had similar experiences: Some of their stories were disquieting I realized most of us bear heavy burdens, often alone.
It was also encouraging to have the church consistory pray for and about his illness, offering their advice. The issue of medications for mental illness can be controversial in Christian circles, but in the case of schizophrenia, they seem to be necessary to get the mind stable enough to start making progress.
After much research and prayer, our church consistory explained to my son that, in his case, taking medications was an act of concern for others. Enormous encouragement came from knowing my son belongs to the Lord. He was baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and publicly professed his faith, and God faithfully proclaimed the gospel to him week after week for many years through word and sacrament. I have rest from and in my work.
Rest from and in my anxieties. And direction, a constant guide who protects me because He is good. But then the verses zoom out. The rest and provision and peace become a stark contrast against everything else in the perimeter. The pastures and waters and paths are found not in a land of gleaming promise, but in a dark and dangerous valley.
Over the last 4 months, I believe I have come to understand that term a little better. And as I have, the passage has come alive because the shadow represents the setting, the context, for everything happening in these 6 verses.
In The Valley Of The Shadow
Without the shadow, everything else means so much less. In November I began to experience abdominal pains. They were a nuisance, but gradually became worse until they began interrupting my entire life: Doctors offered short term fixes, but nothing helped. The breaking point came 2 months later in January. For next 6 weeks I virtually lived in hospitals. Procedure after procedure, test after test — and everything continued to come back negative. I watched the doctors scramble in confusion as they watched my body deteriorate.
I prayed every hour of every day for God to step in. For Him to stop this pain, heal my body, and end my suffering. Every day I prayed, yet the pain continued. But one thing that has not completely healed is the fear that crept into my spirit. Because of that, I feel fear. I feel fear because, for a moment, I really thought I might not get better. In that moment I understood Psalm I was not face to face with death.