finding refuge in jesus

followers of this blog will know that i am reading pilgrim's progress as i make my way through spain. i am reading very slowly because i fall asleep so quickly at night (usually by 9.30) that i don't get more than a few pages read at a time.
one of the things that isn't really very clear is how christian and his friend, hopeful, make some of their decisions. it is clear they should never leave the path.
however, what is not clear is when to take a rest and when to hurry through. their time spent in the delectable mountains is specifically for their refreshment. their time there, however, is short and they are meant to get back on the path in their journey to the celestial city.
another time they are crossing the enchanted ground that beckons them rest but christian somehow perceives that this is a place of danger and they must be especially alert that sleep not overtake them so that they can move through this area without harm
i have been thinking about this a bit in relation to our experiences with places to rest. some nights we only just survive the accomodation. other places are a complete surprise. the guide book sometimes doesn't help much and we guided moreby hunch than information
for example tonight we are in villar de mazarif. our albergue is called the refugio de jesus. what better name for a place to stay. the guide book provided a fairly bland description and we were only curious to see it because of its name. we were prepared to walk away from the refuge of jesus and go to a more commercial place if it looked too uncomfortable (we are staying in a very small village so our expectations were low)
what a place! it has just been renovated ready for this season's walkers but not used much yet so we are getting the benefit of new fittings etc. the great thing about the place is that in the past people have drawn all over the walls and there are beautiful drawings, funny pictures, interesting sayings in all languages all over the walls. these have been left so the place has retained its past but been transormed into a really funky comfortable place .
hardly any of the people we walked with today turned to the refuge of jesus to stay so we are in this place almost alone. we are really pleased to be here and think we made a good choice.
in fact, as sometimes happens on the camino, we had a choice in which way to walk today. sometimes there are alterntive routes along more 'scenic' ways. i am
reluctant to walk them because they are usually

1. muddy
2. poorly marked
3. hilly
4. longer

i keep in mind christian's insructions for his walk to stay on the path as i try to take the high moral ground in our discussion about which way to go. today, however, we made the better choice in taking the alternative. the main route followed the N120 all the way, whereas we had soft quiet rural tracks to follow.

i should just say that juan almost always wants to take the alternative, hence our decision to go over the pyrenees rather than around them. it appeals to him because it is always described as more scenic but i think he thinks there is more virtue in difficulty.

it's part of the camino way to accept what comes your way in these matters. sometimes you make a good call and other times your day is more difficult than it needed to be. that approach might be all right for the camino but i'm not sure that it is good enough in real life.

after all it has to be better to find refuge in jesus than anywhere else, doesn't it?

"this is what the LORD says 'stand at the crossroad and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it and you will find rest for your souls' Jer 6:16