Saturday, October 29th....Detours from Arbel to Capernaum

Let's face it we hate having to detour.  We hate not being able to take the fastest way possible to our destination.  A sense of dread rises about the time that will be wasted. We focus on the inconvenience of taking having to go out of our way.

Today was a go out of our way kind of day.  The sun is bright as we begin to climb mount Arbel.  From the mountain we can turn around and see the way in which we have come.  We are proud of our past and can see our destination, the beautiful stunning Sea of Galilee.

Standing atop this mountain is not the way Jesus would have traveled but the view is simply so stunning that the Jesus Trail takes you up and over this mountain.  The descent began and all was calm. The bouldering was much the same as yesterday but when we arrived at the half way point and approximately 45 minutes from the valley we simply had to turn around.  Not everyone in our group felt safe holding onto the wire rope that was embedded into the side of the mountain for hikers to hold steady. I have to tell you I believed that they could do it.  While it would be pushing those within my group, I believed in them.  But our guide made the call for us to ascend the mountain and walk down the paved road and around the other side of the mountain into the valley.

My heart sank.  This was the part that I was looking forward to because I love adventure and I love pushing my own limits of self confidence and ability.

We all began the long journey back up to where we had started the morning.  Down the paved road and onto a connector path of the trail that we have been walking.  Boulder after boulder; barely any path at times; a very slow and steady trek downhill.  As we were just about to make the connection onto to the trail for the day our guide stood in disbelief. The gate that had always been there was suddenly gone and a new barbed wire fence had been put in it's place.  Feeling absolutely awful our guide searched for a place that we could make the crossing.  The solution was to crawl under a 5 stringed barbed wire.  We were all up for the challenge and began laughing that we had all done it throughout our childhood.

We made it under the fence and began the journey of walking in the valley.

It was during that extra two hour walk that our guide shared that today should have been his wedding day.  We talked about heartache, forgiveness, moving forward and trying to find peace.  Those two hours gave me the chance to really pray over some people I really love.  Those two hours reminded me that leading means listening to the group's concerns.  That extra time on the trail found us laughing and making memories that we would not have otherwise shared.

Guess what, we made it to our destinations today.  We did not make it to our destination by not foot because after sharing in a delicious meal along the seashore we realized that we wanted to celebrate all that we had done.  We called our driver and spent time in three different places along the Sea of Galilee. As we stood on the Sea of Galilee in Carpernaum, I had everyone look across at the Horns of Hittin and over to Arbel and through the valley because if not for the detour we would not have shared in the glorious provisions that shared our day.

Where are you frustrated?
Where do you feel like your like has taken a detour?
Where are you caught trying to push others when they are not ready to follow?

There is greatness in the detours and there are lessons to be learned from those who need to pause.  Keep walking because your destination is before you.

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