The road out of town winds through valleys of soft stone, where fairy chimneys rise like sentinels from the earth. At dawn, hot air balloons drift across the sky, and Cappadocia looks like a dream I never want to wake from. Yet beauty, I have learned, does not cancel loneliness.
Living here means learning a new rhythm. The call to prayer echoes over the rooftops five times a day. In the markets, warm and friendly locals invite you for a cup of çay (turkish tea) or kahvaltı (breakfast) if you go early. Slowly, the rhythm becomes my own.
The road I walk is not crowded. Few have taken it, and fewer understand why I did. Friends of many years walked away when I made this choice; some feared being associated with a “poor” country I was beginning to call home. Some days I wonder whether I chose well. But God is faithful. He walked beside me and drew me closer to Himself. He worked miracles where only He could, and what others counted as my loss became a life more meaningful than before.
The valleys hold their own quiet lessons. Early Christians carved churches into these cliffs, worshipping in secret and trusting what they could not yet see. They, too, walked a lonely road, and their frescoes in the cave chapel prove that hope outlasts fear.
So I keep walking. I sip my matcha slowly, embrace the differences, and learn one more Turkish word. The road may be quiet, but I am not abandoned by the God who pursues me and loves me so much.
The road is never lonely when the God who can make all things possible walks with us. Amen.
“For nothing is impossible with God.”
Luke 1:37 (NLT)
华文版
孤身之路
出城的路蜿蜒穿过柔软岩石形成的山谷,仙女烟囱般的奇岩如哨兵一般从大地中拔地而起。清晨,热气球在天空中缓缓飘过,卡帕多奇亚宛如一场我永远不想醒来的梦。然而,我渐渐明白,美景并不能抹去孤独。
在这里生活,意味着学习一种新的节奏。宣礼的呼唤声每天五次回荡在屋顶之上。在市集里,热情友善的当地人会邀请你,如果你去得早,他们会请你喝一杯土耳其茶(çay)或共进土耳其式早餐(kahvaltı)。渐渐地,这种节奏也成了我自己的节奏。
我走的这条路并不拥挤。走过的人很少,明白我为何选择它的人更少。相识多年的朋友在我做出这个决定时离我而去,有些人害怕与我所要安家的这个”贫穷”国度扯上关系。有些日子,我也会怀疑自己是否选对了。但神是信实的。祂陪我同行,让我更加亲近祂。祂在唯有祂才能成就的地方行了神迹。别人以为我所失去的,反倒成了比从前更有意义的人生。
这些山谷藏着属于它们的静默功课。早期的基督徒在这些悬崖上凿出教堂,在隐秘中敬拜,信靠那尚未看见的一切。他们同样走过一条孤独的路,而在洞穴教堂留下的壁画见证了:盼望胜过恐惧。
所以我继续前行。我慢慢啜饮抹茶,拥抱各种差异,再学会一个土耳其语单词。这条路或许安静,但我并未被抛弃,因为那位追寻我、如此深爱我的神与我同在。
这条路从不孤独,因为那位能使万事成为可能的神与我们同行。阿们。
路加福音 1:37(NLT)
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