We had a few hours to explore a new city yesterday. Visiting Hanoi, connecting with new friends for 48 hours, we are staying in the Old Quarter. Frommer's Vietnam guide book recommended a self guided walking tour. I've never bothered with one of these before, but Jan was willing and so off we went.
Just three blocks from our small 3 star hotel we strolled by lovely Hoan Kiem lake that features an island pagoda. We ambled past stores on crowded sidewalks and stopped to investigate an ancient, huge banyan tree, item three on the self guided tour. Then following the guide book we entered Tam Thoung Alley. The book said to "follow the many crooks in this quiet little lane". So we did, we followed it left and right, and it was narrow. We observed the old yellow house, site four in the book. Then we continued exploring what became an increasingly quiet, increasingly little lane.
Finally we could go no further. We were surprised that we had come to a dead end. The two men in the small house at the end of the lane were equally surprised to find two foreigners staring into their doorway. We back tracked about 75 meters and found where we had turned left past the yellow house we should have turned right. That lane was not so small and was not a blind alley. As they say, "No harm, no foul".
But all of us live surrounded by people whose lives are leading down blind alleys. Living lives with no ultimate purpose and no ultimate satisfaction. One kind of blind alley was obvious as we stepped into a small Buddhist temple yesterday and saw one of the women street sellers offering her sincere prayers to spirits who cannot hear or help her now or ever.
Your friends my be prosperous, irreligous and satisfied, but without Jesus, their lives are also headed down a blind alley. If we could interest them in a Great Tour Guide Book, and if they would pay close attention to the directions ---. What if you could introduce them to the Great Tour Guide!?
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