Have you ever wondered where all the people are going? Have you ever sat in the safety of your dwelling place and wondered…?

Here I am on ‘day 3’ in Greece—downtown Athens— and I’m wondering. How do I do life in this place mostly unfamiliar to me? The explorer in me is weary from all the preparations of just getting here. The courageous part in me wants to hide for a few minutes, maybe even a few days. The observer within me is watchful and alert, working hard to interpret and process all that I see around me through the lens of my personality and experience of life.

So many questions with an accompanying cacophony of emotions… What is happening around me? How do they do it? How do I do it? What do you call that? How much is that? Where does it go? What does that mean? What must I do? How do I ask for that?

I don’t fit in. Yet. Will I ever?

I witness the uninhibited joyful response of the woman behind the counter as I use her language to say “Thank you for your help” and I know I will keep going…

Life. It really is all about relationship and not so much about the task after all.

And I know I will explore—one step at a time. Where the people are. How they get there. Where they are going. I will join them on their journey even if my steps are a little tentative at first.

My dwelling place is a safe and secure one. In this place of belonging I am daily prepared and equipped for exploring the world around me.

I go out. I come back in. I go out… The very air I breathe—the very atmosphere in which I have my being—in this place I am utterly loved and accepted.

So I will remember to live and love well for life is not a guarantee but a gift. And I remember.

I follow Jesus and when I follow Jesus, life happens…