History

Have you ever been struck by the fact that the places we walk have been walked on by people for hundreds of years (at least!)? Walking through Letchworth State Park always seems to remind me of that. My overactive imagination kicks into high gear as I picture Native Americans walking through the forests, fathers and sons working side by side to build the walls and steps during the Great Depression, and the countless other people who have walked the same trails we walk in the park. It always astounds me how the people and the times are always changing, but some places in the world seem to be frozen in time. Certain places give you a glimpse of the past in a way no history textbook could ever come close to doing.

Friday, I was blessed enough to go to one of those places.

Old Town Annecy is like a place right off of a post card, but pictures cannot do it justice. I will try to give you a glimpse though...

Every Friday there is a market down the narrow streets of Old Annecy.  You can buy flowers, fruit, veggies, cheese, candies, and even meat fresh from the vendors and you can sample just about everything. Picture your local farmers market, multiply times a bajillion, then add two. It's huge... and wonderful.

 I really like French cheese.

Hundred year old shops, houses and buildings line the cobblestone streets. 

Did I mention there is a Canal that runs along the streets?

 

The canal splits down the middle and goes around an old prison. I don't think I would mind being locked up here...

 

The canal opens up to a beautiful lake with the mountains in the background. 

I guess the thing I like about walking in places like this is thinking about the lives of the people who have walked there years ago. It reminds me that nothing is eternal. The houses and streets have changed over time (though in some places it doesn't look like it), and the people are long gone. The life that they lived may not even be remembered, but their souls are living for all of eternity in either heaven or hell. This world is not my home, heaven is. I want my life on earth to be spent praising and glorifying my creator, and I want my eternity to be spent the same way. God created this beautiful earth for his own glory. Praise God for the marvelous things He has done!