When you take a wrong turn, you can still get to a glorious place!
The Wrong Turn
Today we walked 7 hours and 12.5 miles to Capernaum. Along the way we took a bit of a wrong turn and ended up in a pasture full of cows. We tried to go through the cows but they weren't moving. In the distance, we could hear one female cow baying. She had become separated from her calf.
The group began to retrace our steps to see where we had made a wrong turn. We quickly came across the baying cow as she tried to reach her calf. Most of the group avoided her. At the last minute, she changed direction and came face to face with me. One of the group members called my name and we both knew I was dangerously close to getting head butted.
In the end, she just glared at me before continuing on her way. The universal look of an aggravated mother is not hard to understand - even in cow language!
The Glorious Place
As I have experienced many times these past 12 days, it is difficult to put into the words the impact of Capernaum on my psyche and soul.
Most archaeologists agree that Peter's mother-in-law lived in the house right next to the synagogue. Scripture tells us Jesus went to Peter's mother-in-law who was in bed with a fever and healed her. She then got up and began to wait on them (Mark 1:29-31).
In the church that sits on top of her home for us all to see, I imagined the joy Peter must have felt. I saw Christ healing my own mother-in-law, which will happen, just not here on earth.
Then, at the end of my visit, I sat on the shores of Capernaum. I looked back at the distance I had traveled and pondered my feelings upon reaching this destination. I was at peace.
