4 - Acclimate
Dolomites from the air
As we completed our descent into Venezia around noon, we could see the beautiful Dolomiti from the window. The granite peaks jut out of the surrounding alpine heights like they were thrust violently upward during some Jurassic earthquake. Otherworldly. They are barren, made of cold gray granite, and have giant rock fields scattered below the peaks that look like piles of sand from the distance.
All luggage arrived safely, our first answer to prayer. We head west to Bardolino on Lago di Garda and settle into our beautiful apartment near the waterfront with all the vibrant activity of a late summer holiday. The weather was perfect and we began adjusting to the six-hour time difference. We ate lake trout, rode bikes along the waterfront, visited our old neighborhood and had a Prosecco with our neighbor, Raffaele. The grapes in the Valpolicella were about to be harvested, so the vineyards were plump with low-hanging fruit and ready for harvest.
Reading through the story of Jacob’s crazy dream in Genesis 28, I was struck by his statement, “Surely, the Lord is in this place.” The “certain place” he decided to lie down in for the night wasn’t special by itself. He was just tired from his journey, and this was as good a place as any. But God had plans for Jacob in that place, plans to show him some things and speak to him.
I am hopeful that as I go to the Dolomites on Sunday, it will be that “certain place” that God is in. I am going with expectation and anticipation that God will meet me there. I have a picture in my head of the Dolomites at the “top” of Italy - both in elevation and in the north (top) on a map - and us standing on the peaks singing God’s praises, declaring His goodness over this country, His love for and patience with its people. I see the oil of the Holy Spirit flowing from our hearts on those peaks down over the entire Italian peninsula. I have my little list of things I hope to accomplish in those four days and three nights, but in the words of one of my favorite pastors, “Let’s just see what the Lord will do.”
The scripture we have chosen to memorize is Psalm 46.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
