This past Sunday during the introduction to Pastor Lonny's message, I found myself going back in time and vividly remembering faraway places that tugged at my heartstrings. Though he didn't specifically reference the timeline, Pastor Lonny mentioned that he and his wife previously took a three-month Sabbatical and during one of those months trekked in the footprints of Paul. They started by visiting the ancient city of Ephesus.
They had flown to Athens and gone by ship to Ephesus. He mentioned the color of blue of the Aegean Sea, and I immediately had a flashback to the most beautiful blue I've ever seen. Paint stores have tried for years to duplicate the color, but it cannot be done. If you don't see it with your own eyes, you can't begin to understand the depth of its beauty.
Though Pastor Lonny didn't mention Kusadasi by name, when he made reference to tenders (small boats) used to get them from the cruise ship to the port, I remember the level of excitement the General and I experienced when we found ourselves in that same place.
Seeing with our own eyes places only read about previously in history books made the travel seem surreal. In conjunction with our 40th anniversary, the General and I took an eighteen-day Mediterranean cruise, but the first body of water was the Aegean Sea. We had seen first-hand the color of blue Pastor Lonny was referencing.
Pastor Lonny didn't mention the Basilica of St. John, but it was our first stop on our day tour as we made our way toward Ephesus. The thing that saddened me about the visit to that locality was the presence of Isa Bey Mosque located a stone's throw from the ruins of the Basilica of St. John. It was built in the 1300s. After standing in ruins for centuries, it was restored in 1970 and reopened for prayer.
The ancient city of Ephesus was the most impressive tour associated to our trip. The façade of the ancient library near the entrance to our tour, still captivates my interest. Though our trip was sixteen years ago, bits and pieces of the memories still fill my head.
I remember that I thoughtfully attempted to chronicle each day's activities and paint a word picture of the previous day. It saddens me that I no longer have access to that diary. Why I didn't make a hard copy or ensure it was preserved on the cloud is beyond me. All I can think at this point is that we need to go back.
Pastor Lonny's message from Sunday can be found at www.henlybaptistchurch.org. The message entitled Tendering is taken from Hebrews 7:24-25. It will be an incredible use of your time to invest in listening to the sermon.
As I reflected on the message the following day, the sound of Elvis rolled around inside the head. The lyrics are not dissimilar to the message: "…love me tender, love me sweet - Never let me go – You have made my life complete – And I love you so - …Love me tender, love me true – all my dreams fulfill." God provides that kind of love for us.
All My Best!
Don
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