Lost in Assisi

One time I was lost in Assisi Italy. I was trying to get to the hermitage where St. Francis used to spend time in prayer and silence. It was one of those comedy of errors where everything went wrong. Obstacles got in my way. I spent a good amount of the afternoon trying to get to this hermitage. I never got there.

I won't go into all the things that got in the way of my getting there other to say that it involved an italian coin, a bus driver taking a really long break, people I heard speaking english who all of a sudden didn't speak english when I asked them for directions, rain, a lady tending to her geraniums, getting my leg jammed in the bus door,and a staircase in the woods. Oh yes, and I can't forget a poppy field.

I was in fairly constant communication with Jesus while I was trying to get to the hermitage. I asked for his help. I used all my girl scout skills. I smiled and was gracious to the people I was trying to get to help me. I tried to be brave and patient. I tried to have a sense of humor about it.

I had a map of Assisi and I tried to walk to where I needed to go, but I think the map was wrong because even though I followed it, I still became lost. I am generally good with maps so this was quite frustrating.

Finally, after several hours of going nowhere but in circles, or getting lost in the woods, I sat down on some steps I found in the middle of the woods - yes, some steps. As a matter of fact there was an entire staircase of concrete steps down a hill in the middle of the woods. I sat down, folded up the map and put it in my back pocket.

I looked up to Heaven and told Jesus that I was totally giving up because I tried everything in my power to get where I needed to go and it wasn't working. So I asked Jesus to please just help me get back to my hotel. It was too late to try to reach the hermitage. I basically said a prayer of surrender and told Jesus that I was just going to say the Lord's Prayer over and over and walk without looking at the map. I was done asking people questions, and he had to get me back to my hotel before dark.

So I walked. I prayed. I walked. I prayed. I walked...you get my drift. I'm in the woods at this time. Alone. Lost. Finally I came to a road and walked along it. I was in the country. Don't ask me how I got out of the city of Assisi into the woods, but I did. I walked down the road for quite a while and came upon a beautiful poppy field. I couldn't resist stopping because I figured that hundreds of years ago St. Francis might have walked through this field. So I sat under a tree and rested a little bit. Then I continued walking.

Long story short...I finally made it back to find a bus. I got on the bus. The bus stopped at the "Temple of Minerva" which became a Catholic church at some point in history. I got off the bus and went right into the church to thank Jesus for getting me back to the area I was familiar with, but I was still a good hike from my hotel. After thanking God in the church I got back on the bus and we continued on. The bus stopped at an intersection and there was some sort of car accident. Both drivers were yelling at each other in italian and waving their arms around. One guy lunged at the other through his window and started to grab him around his neck. It was chaos.

Finally the bus continued and I finally made it back to my hotel. I was relieved and exhausted. Sad to say, nobody from my tour group missed me except for my travling roomie who was very angry because when I left the room to go on my adventure, somehow I inadvertently locked her in the room. She could not figure out how to unlock the door nor could she figure out how to use the italian phone to call the front desk. She she was stuck in the room for the many hours I was lost in the woods.

What an exhausting, stressful day. I never did make it to the hermitage. Maybe someday I will. But I did learn that it is important to keep one's wits about them and to try everything humanly possible to solve a problem. However, I also learned that when nothing else works, stop, pray, and ask Jesus for help. Then trust and keep walking. Oh, and enjoy the poppy fields on the way because eventually things work out because God said He would never leave us or forsake us and if we ask we will receive.

This is what I've been thinking of tonight...because even though I'm not in Assisi, I am a little lost. So I am walking and praying and I know that at some point, Jesus will get me back to where I have to be. Along the way, I hope to have a few poppy field experiences.