In 2016, I traveled — one might even say took a pilgrimage – to a Middle Eastern country.  My thoughts often go back to the many ways in which that journey changed my life, and changed me.  As is so often the case, the most profound insights and changes occurred organically and separately from the itinerary, but that is the stuff of a different blog post.   

The trip was sponsored by a local Christian church.  I opted to add a three-day "Jesus Trail" (https://jesustrail.com) 'package' to the beginning of the trip.

The Jesus Trail tour was led by a guide named Yogi, who happened to be Jewish (this fact will become relevant in a moment).  Yogi was exceptional at setting the stage for the seven of us to have life-changing experiences simply by the way in which he led this tour (more on that later, as well).

The subsequent 10-day tour was led by a different tour guide.  This tour guide, whose name escapes me, happened to be Christian (again, please stay tuned for a moment).  The way in ...