Keeping the course.

The more I travel around Italy, the probability of getting lost seems to grow, especially when I am traveling with another person. I tend to be willing to take more risks and see where a road might lead if I am not by myself. Here that can lend itself to getting lost because roads are not straight and often street signs are difficult to find. In fact directional signs in general can be difficult to find and don't appear often, which has lead to a good lesson: When in doubt, remain on the course from the last sign seen!
This lesson has come up several times in the last month. Recently, I was again in Assisi, which is becoming one of my favorite cities to visit, but this time my travel companion wanted to walk up to Mount Subasio to see the cave that Assisi slept in. I was game in the beginning, but after 30 minutes of walking uphill in my flip flops, and no sign letting us know if we were going in the right direction I was losing the desire to continue. We finally came across some people coming down the road and they reassured us it was just ahead. Another thing I have learned here is that everyone's concept of "just a bit further" is very different. So as we continue with still no signs, I again begin to doubt if the direction is correct. It is quite difficult to stay motivated to continue walking uphill in the heat of the day when you are not sure that you are going to get to the right destination. Jennifer, my travel buddy, made the comment that when in doubt, you must continue in the path of the last clear sign, which at this moment had been 40 minutes ago in Assisi.
Eventually we did arrive at the "Hermitage", which was the in city of Eremo, where there is a monestary, sanctaury and the "cave" where St. Francis of Assisi slept. It was definitely worth the walk. It was a beautiful view and I have been told that you can also hike the mountain. I guess one of my next trips, when I am in clothes for hiking, I will see the rest of the mountain.

Well, on the walk back down the mountain I was continuing to ponder this thought of following the last clear sign. It is not just true for finding physical directions, but also spiritual direction. I tend to doubt the Lord's leading in my life when there is a period without confirmation or a "clear sign". Then when I doubt if the direction is right, I have less determination when things get hard. I struggled with this while I was raising support at times, but as I continued to move forward in faith I had confirmation through reading God's word, other people and prayer. I truly am grateful for the time I spent in raising support. If it had been easy or really quick, I don't think I would have the ability to persevere here. And I also know that as I perserve in this time of learning the langauge and culture, it will give me the next "clear sign" to persevere in ministry.