If you’re anything like me, when you think of Greece you think of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. You think of Alexis Bledel on vacation, staring over the colorful rooftops that overlook the ocean, meeting cute boys with names like Stavros, and wrapping up the day with a romantic candle-lit dinner on a boat.
And when I signed up for the World Race I intentionally chose my route because, of course, I want to go to Greece! But not for the reasons I listed above. Actually, that romanticized version of Greece doesn’t exist in reality.
Instead of a destination vacation, Greece has become a necessary escape for refugees fleeing from the terror in the Middle East.
Instead of living in the beautiful stucco homes coloring the coastline, refugees live in tattered tents and shelters.
Instead of meeting cute boys, refugees are trying to find someone who will accept them and show them mercy.
Instead of romantic candle-light dinners, refugees eat whatever they can find to live off of.
Instead of heading home after the dream-like vacation, refugees are left wondering what has become of their old homes and if they’ll ever have a home again.
A year from now, I’ll be finishing up a month in Greece and I’ll most likely be living somewhat similarly to the refugees in Greece. I’ll be living out of a back pack under the shelter of a tent with a group of people who were strangers a couple of months before who have turned into something like family to me. And for that people tell me I’m brave.
But I have the security of knowing I have a home, food, and loved ones waiting for me safely at home. I have all of this because of the sacrifices made for me by people who didn’t know me.
I also have ultimate freedom because of Jesus. Despite knowing every part of me, good and bad, He gave up His life so that I could find mine.
And because of the courage and sacrifice of those before me, I am free in every sense of the word.
So now I’m choosing to sacrifice my American comforts to love on those who don’t know anything about me all for the sake of freedom.
