napping on the shores of Galilee

yesterday, my 4 friends and i, drove up to the sea of Galilee, Tiberias, and Capernaum. we stopped off in Tiberias for lunch. i had a deliciously disappointing falafel pita and a coke in a can, that i paid 8 sheckels for. $2 bucks! no, i wouldn't have paid that had i known. i'm just now learning the exchange rate.

Tiberias was so beautiful, perched on the side of a mountain. i saw a clash of cultures. Jewish men wearing all their religious attire and older women wearing spandex pants with "daisy dukes". no pictures.

from there we moved on to the sea of Galilee, which is basically just a big lake. you kinda just have to sit there and look at it, imagining in your head that THIS is where Jesus calmed the store and walked on water. it was cold and windy, so not hard to imagine a storm.

next on the map, was Capernaum, right on Galilee. i had no idea what to expect. as you can probably imagine though, a lot of these places are really touristy now - marketing everything from "Jesus" bookmarks to "Jesus" place mats. everything you can possibly think of. it was nauseating to say the least. Capernaum, itself, was fascinating though. {as i'm writing this, i can hear the call to prayer, and it's really annoying, thankfully the guy has a decent voice}.... see the post below for pictures of Capernaum.

the highlight of the day for me was what happened next. from Capernaum, we made our way back down to the shores of the Galilee. by now, the sky had cleared, the wind dyed down, and the sun was shining bright. my friends and i sat on the rocks, talking back and forth about what it must've been like to live during the time of Jesus. we imagined what we might've said or done and how we might've reacted to Him. we watched birds dive in and out of the water, local fishermen drifting by in their boats.

as Jeremy read from the scriptures, i found a comfy place in the rocks and drifted off to sleep. {uh oh, sounds just like the disciples!}. but they had no excuse, i have jet lag :D
taking a nap on the shores of Galilee, with the sun warming my face, has been one of the most surreal experiences so far. it was delightfully wonderful, relaxing, and peaceful.

thank You, Dad, for bringing me here.