i wish we all had balconies in the states. i feel most at home when i am just chillin on the balcony snacking on potato chips.
life in athens is good. though five days is only a microcosm of life, i feel almost as if this is my normal life.
i couldn’t have ended up with a better host. really.
elfi is wonderful and she feels like a friend, not a host.
thankfully, i haven’t been going non-stop. though i have more or less had time to blog, for whatever reason, i just didn’t make it a priority. plus, i keep getting caught up in thinking about the wedding. for a long time i’ve wished i could think about it and now that i am finally here it seems unreal. as if i’m still not allowed to think about it. it’s also quite overwhelming.
one thing that i have found a little bit upsetting is that almost everyone i talk to here doesn’t want to get married. and i don’t think that is unique to greece. it’s like everyone stopped believing in marriage and the joy that it can be. i’m not ignorant of its struggles, but i also believe that it is worth it. i’m sensing the growing importance of my own marriage. how important it is that it be God’s. how important it is that it would show the love of Christ and what he does in our lives. at this point, i think that’s my biggest hope.
anyway.
yesterday, saturday, i slept in until 10 and had coffee with elfi in the morning. we went to the supermarket to pick up a few things and then headed off to the national gallery. the national gallery is a museum with a collection of greek art throughout the different movements in europe.
it was absolutely fascinating and i wish i would have had more time to explore it. though i recognized some of the artistic movements, i would really enjoy reading more about it and the artists and going back.
i then spent the evening wandering around the downtown area, getting lost, eating gelato, taking photographs, and buying sandals from creepy kostas.
today, i slept in again and then went to the archaelogical museum with elfi as my guide. the museum was really overwhelming and if i can make a confession, not my favorite. i don’t know. i just am not that fascinated by archaelogical stuff. i mean, it was interesting and i like to look at the stuff. but, one hour tops. after that, i just get bored.
Tahnawannaeatgelato:
You are welcome to use our balcony whenever you want. We are going to put a few chairs and a bistro table out there soon. It will soon be fantastic balcony weather in Houston. Imagine a nice warm cup of coffee, a bagel with cream cheese and some good reading material; a little slice of heaven on earth.
About the marriage thing, though I am one of the worst to take advice from, it is the right thing to do under the direction and counsel from the Lord. Marriage in Europe is becoming passe because God is mostly, if not completely, missing from most relationships. Successful marriage, like your sister's, happens when the couple is equally yoked together and with God. This is why there is so much hope for you and Joseph, because you have the correct leadership over your relationship combined with a lengthy and appropriate courtship. A true blessing in times when the world is going God optional, or worse, God free.
So today, be encouraged and excited about just how your life is unfolding. And what a badge of honor to be heading towards success by God's standards? Though a majority of marriages are now failing or have failed, yours will be immune to secular failure as long as you keep God first and foremost followed by making and keeping each other firmly second. We are so happy for you and Joseph and we wish you great blessings for a beautiful life together.
Love,
Dad