Remember...

So I had the amazing opportunity of going to Greece last week. It was such a nice time of rest, exploring a new culture, some team building and having some fun. One of the days that I was there I decided to venture off on my own to explore one of the cities. I stopped by one of the shops and purchased a little map and I was off. I noticed on the map that there was a castle close by the city but since the map was not really made for accuracy I couldn't really tell how far away it was. I was surrounded by some big mountains though so I knew that I would be in for a hike. I found out from a local at lunch that the castle was up the hill called Bohali and so off I trekked in what I hoped was the right direction. Now all of the roads on my map were not labeled and even if they were it was quite difficult to find street signs in the little narrow streets that I was traveling through so every once in a while I would spot someone and say "Bohali?" and they would point me up the big hill. The picture above gives you an idea of the "streets" that I was wandering through. I wish I had a better shot to show you how steep some of the climb was but I was entirely too tired to get my camera out at that point. At any rate, there were definitely a few times when I questioned myself about the journey I had started because I was quickly getting tired from my climb. However, it was so peaceful and quiet and it was nice to have time to just get alone with my thoughts. Often when I am doing things physically exhausting I will think of the verse "I can do all things through Him who stregthens me" and this time was no different. I started quoting verses to encourage myself forward but then it also made me think about Jesus. I imagined that the roads that I was traveling on were not too different from some of the roads that Jesus may have seen and especially that Paul would have seen since he had been to Greece. Seeing the older part of Greece with uneven, narrow streets made me feel like I took a step back in history. Soon I started to praise God that I had the ability to trudge up this hill and that I was able to see such beautiful sights. That my legs worked fine and though they were tired I knew that I could make it to the top. Just as I was thinking those thoughts, this man came up out of the olive grove on the side of the cliff carrying a large tree trunk on his shoulder. He crossed the street in front of me and continued on up the steeper part of the hill. I was astonished when I saw this, here I was tired from just carrying myself and my backpack up the hill when crossing in front of me was this man, working in the olive grove, and carrying trees up the steeper part of the cliff. Then I remembered that Jesus had to carry a very different tree up a hill. The road may not have looked that different from the one that I was traveling on but the purpose for Him going up that hill was quite different. He was not going up to see a castle but to hang from the cross that He had to carry. Ironically He was going to end up at a castle, His throne and kingdom at the right hand of the Father, but His trip there was much more difficult than the trip that I was making. Again my mind went to praising God. For the journey He made, for the strength that He had, for the hill that He climbed so that I wouldn't have to but also for that moment when He gave me such a great reminder of how much He loved us to do all of those things. I have been blessed so far for the wonderful things that God has allowed me to see and experience and I feel completely honored that he gave me the privilege to experience that moment that day.

I hope you enjoy some views from the top: