Day 49 | The Appian Way

Day 49, Rome—The Appian Way! This is the road on which Paul entered Rome. While researching this place I was reminded of his desire to visit Rome, and I’m guessing that he wouldn’t have expected to enter Rome as a prisoner, but that’s what happened. As I read an article about the Appian Way, I was reminded by the author that we may have dreams or plans, but God makes the path. Things may not happen how we expect them to, but we know that we can trust God that He will pave the way He wants us to go. Paul entered Rome as a prisoner and was under house arrest there for two years. This is what he had to say about it.

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Philippians 1:12-14 (ESV)

What an example! He is looking at his difficult situation as a way to honor and follow Jesus Christ! May we do the same! 

You might be wondering how our Appian Way experience was. I’ll just say that it was an adventure! We had read that it was easy to get to and it seemed like an enjoyable place for others. For us, it was a further walk to get there than we expected, and when we got to the actual Appian Way, we found ourselves walking on a cobblestone, two-way road for cars enclosed by brick walls with about two feet of walking space between the driving lanes and the walls. We expected to come upon a sign or information area that told us we were headed in the right direction, but nothing appeared to us. We walked along for about a mile and a half and the walls seemed to be closing in even more and we didn’t know when it was going to get better. It was also going to get dark soon, so we had to figure out the best way to get off of that road. Thankfully, we came upon a bus stop. I was skeptical that a bus was going to come by, because it seemed like we were in the middle of nowhere, but Nathan seemed to know there would be one soon. He was right! 

I know we could have been in much worse situations, but I’m so thankful that God kept us safe and I believe that He also provided the bus that drove up after less than five minutes of us waiting...even though I was doubting! 

We were soooo happy to get on that bus! We had to go out of our way to get home, and take two buses, a subway, and a tram, but we made it! What an adventure!