Unexpected
The journey is never boring with my son! When he accompanied me in 2010 to the Oberammergau Passion Play, we got the chance to tour northern Italy before heading to Germany and Austria. One day (one very hot and humid day) we were in Venice, a city I had long wanted to visit. Turns out, though the humidity was high and the heat was turned way up, our tour guide told us it was a cooler day in Venice. Apparently, the trade-off for the romantic aura that surrounds the city is heat and humidity.
In the morning, we got to see glass blowing and took a walking tour of the city. We also got to take a gondola ride, which is a must if you're visiting Venice. And then, in the afternoon, we had free time to explore. After lunch (pizza, of course, for Christopher, and pasta for me), many in our group wanted to hit the shops. But I had shopped all I wanted to and Christopher wasn't interested in doing that, so we decided to walk and explore for a while. We found the only McDonald's on the island, and then we kept walking...into the decidedly non-tourist areas of Venice. Ordinary houses. People doing daily life. Laundry hanging out the window of a second-story apartment. Mothers yelling at their children. People preparing meals at home. The same sort of things you'd find in your own neighborhood.
We did the same thing in Siena, wandered the back streets. Up and down hills. Finding gelato and daily life. There was so much more to these cities than just what the tour guides wanted or planned for us to see. Life happens in the most ordinary and unexpected ways. Christopher still remembers those times we wandered off the beaten path as some of the best moments of our trip together.
Unexpected, unplanned moments are often the very best of all.
I've found it's very often in the unexpected moments when God meets you in the most powerful ways. I've seen that in so many ways, not the least of which are the unexpected friendships God sends your way along the journey. People who stand with you through thick and thin, people who would go to bat for you without thinking about it, people who don't bat an eye when you ask them to help you. People with whom you do life, share moments and from whom you find strength.
People who do daily life with you.
Unexpected friends.
As we travel further on the journey, I am thankful for each and every one of the people God has sent in such a way to my life, and into the life of our family. God is so good, and sends the people you need for the time and place in life you find yourself—usually unexpectedly, when you're not looking for it. David and Jonathan. Ruth and Naomi. Paul and Silas. Barnabas and John Mark. Jesus and Peter. And you and...
Take a moment and give God thanks for the unexpected friends he has sent your way, and take none of them for granted.
In the morning, we got to see glass blowing and took a walking tour of the city. We also got to take a gondola ride, which is a must if you're visiting Venice. And then, in the afternoon, we had free time to explore. After lunch (pizza, of course, for Christopher, and pasta for me), many in our group wanted to hit the shops. But I had shopped all I wanted to and Christopher wasn't interested in doing that, so we decided to walk and explore for a while. We found the only McDonald's on the island, and then we kept walking...into the decidedly non-tourist areas of Venice. Ordinary houses. People doing daily life. Laundry hanging out the window of a second-story apartment. Mothers yelling at their children. People preparing meals at home. The same sort of things you'd find in your own neighborhood.
We did the same thing in Siena, wandered the back streets. Up and down hills. Finding gelato and daily life. There was so much more to these cities than just what the tour guides wanted or planned for us to see. Life happens in the most ordinary and unexpected ways. Christopher still remembers those times we wandered off the beaten path as some of the best moments of our trip together.
Unexpected, unplanned moments are often the very best of all.
I've found it's very often in the unexpected moments when God meets you in the most powerful ways. I've seen that in so many ways, not the least of which are the unexpected friendships God sends your way along the journey. People who stand with you through thick and thin, people who would go to bat for you without thinking about it, people who don't bat an eye when you ask them to help you. People with whom you do life, share moments and from whom you find strength.
People who do daily life with you.
Unexpected friends.
As we travel further on the journey, I am thankful for each and every one of the people God has sent in such a way to my life, and into the life of our family. God is so good, and sends the people you need for the time and place in life you find yourself—usually unexpectedly, when you're not looking for it. David and Jonathan. Ruth and Naomi. Paul and Silas. Barnabas and John Mark. Jesus and Peter. And you and...
Take a moment and give God thanks for the unexpected friends he has sent your way, and take none of them for granted.
 |
| Christopher at the Venice McDonald's • 2010 |
Comments
Post a Comment