My Moment in Greece: Going from Lost to Found

Getting lost allowed me to be found.

Although there are hundreds of memories from my time here in Greece that I will never forget, there is one memory that stands out as my favorite.

As mentioned in a previous blog, on the second day of our trip we got lost in one of the sketchier parts of Athens after the majority of our group, including our tour guide/professor left us when we stayed too long in a store.

In that moment, I was completely lost. I was stranded in a foreign city, unable to speak their language, with four girls who I didn't know at all.

I had a decision to make. Would I allow hysteria to take over our group, or would I set the example by calmly leading these people I didn't know? I'm happy to say I chose the latter.

In that moment I stepped into a leadership role and assumed responsibility for the safety and direction of my peers. Although I had no idea where we were, or how to get back to our group (whose location was unknown since we didn't know the net stop on our Athenian tour) I had confidence in my ability to lead these four young ladies to safety in a calm and collected manner, despite our surroundings.

It sounds like a hyper-masculine cliche, but I was never scared. Even when I observed the frightened state some of my peers were in, I was unwaivered.

The reason I mention the above paragraph is not to stroke my ego, but to show how I've grown.

I have never been a man who flaunted excessive braun or bravado. I don't hunt, I do not possess the ability to grow a respectable beard, and I hate scary movies, because they scare me. Why people enjoy them still baffles me.

So for me, the moment when we finally found our classmates and professor was a powerful personal triumph. To be able to lead in the face of extreme adversity and emerge victorious gave me confidence in my abilities, and myself.

This moment gave me confidence from the onset of our trip that I would be able to overcome whatever adversity that might come my way. It has freed me from the fear of the unknown that we encounter daily being here in a foreign land.

Yet this new confidence comes not from myself or my abilities, since I am flawed. My confidence comes from my faith in God, and my relationship with my Savior.

When I realized the group I was in was lost, I started praying. Throughout the time we were away from our big group, I prayed. The verse that came to me during that time was the passage from Psalm 23,

"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil. Your rod and Your staff they comfort me."

As I repeated this passage over and over I felt a wave of peace and confidence wash over me.

Thus I was never afraid not because I have no fear, but because I knew I wasn't walking alone.

My favorite moment in Greece was the day that I walked with God. The day He took me from being lost, to being truly found.

~Z