Many of you may already be familiar with Emily Perl Kingsley’s inspiring essay Welcome to Holland. Written in 1987, it’s been around for awhile. Still, I don’t recall ever having read it or even having heard of it until after our flight had landed.
If you haven’t seen it, the rest of this post won’t make as much sense unless you read it first. And while you may never get to go to Holland in the sense she describes, I think this insightful essay has many applications since we all have unexpected destinations in life. Read it—it’ll just take a minute—and it may help you enjoy your own journey more.
Several days ago I was relaying the gist of the essay to my children, explaining the analogy to my youngest ones. I summed up by saying how silly it would be to miss out on the beauties of Holland by being hung up on not getting to go to Italy. They agreed. Imagine how my heart nearly burst with emotion and I laughed out loud when Caleb piped up, “Yeah, ’cause you’ve already been to Italy five times!”
Still, like most families planning a trip, we would have chosen Italy over Holland. We knew nothing of Holland, so we wouldn’t have felt as secure going there. Italy would have seemed safer. And while Italy’s terrain isn’t always easy, at least it’s familiar. We’ve traveled the roads. We know the landmarks.
But our Travel Agent had other plans and, in fact, He booked us this trip to Holland long ago. We didn’t end up here by accident. Although Holland was our unexpected destination, our arrival was no mistake.
We’ve met lots of nice folks here in Holland—beautiful families we’d have never known if we had gone to Italy. And most of them have been here longer than we have, so help is always around the corner if we need some guidance. And, of course, our all-knowing Travel Agent is on call 24/7.
It’s hard to believe that years ago we had absolutely no interest in ever visiting Italy, let alone Holland. But we have an amazing Travel Agent who knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what we truly want, what we truly need, and what is truly best.
How did he know how much we’d love going to Italy time and again, or that a visit to Holland would be just perfect this time?
What a wonderful Travel Agent you have!!! Glad you are being blessed by the sights of Holland, just as you were time and again in Italy!!!
That’s great, Jill. I love it.
Wow, Jill…I have a big lump in my throat. I am catching up on your blog. When I read the essay, I just about lost it. What an absolutely perfect way to describe the unexpected change in plans and expectations…and what a beautiful response from your children. My heart is aching both with recognition and with pride.
(((Lisa))) Yes, you know.
Hi Jill! She is beautiful! I have been wondering how you were doing and just opened your field trip email with the link. I love the essay you are referring to. I first read it when Luke was diagnosed with Asperger’s amongst other things. I have learned soooo much being the mother of a special needs child. God uses him daily to teach me. We will be keeping you and your entire family in our prayers. We serve an awesome God and He gives us what we need when we need it! We look forward to seeing you! Tammy
Amen, Tammy. “Moriah” means “God is my teacher, and as such it’s a perfect name for our little one for so many reasons.
very well said! beautiful entry
Jill, I can’t wait to read the rest of the your site. Funny thing is, I just wanted to know the best way to cook farm fresh eggs, and your post came up in my search. But God knew that I needed to read your story. You see, seven years ago, our family began a journey to a new backyard where God instructed us to start a ministry called Jeremiah’s Crossing. Jeremiah’s Crossing is a therapeutic horseback-riding ranch for folks with special needs. We’ve met a lot of wonderful families that found themselves in “Holland.” How blessed we are to know each of them, and have a small part in helping their family. Many blessings to you and your family. Kathleen
Thanks for commenting, Kathleen. Jeremiah’s Crossing sounds like a great place. There is a similar place locally I plan to check out down the road.