The Importance of the the Little Things

The beauteous Sacred Valley


Despite robbing and sickness I was able to go on a tour to the Sacred Valley with Jessica and Alisha. The Sacred Valley is not far from Cusco and is so-called because of the Sacred River that flows through it. It's a fertile valley with a milder climate and a history of its own. Our visit to the Sacred Valley started out in Pisac where we took a hike up the ruins of a Sun and Moon temple. I may have enjoyed the hike more but I was already feeling slightly feverish and out of shape. The view was gorgeous and it was such a beautiful day. The ruins were just remains of impressive Incan creation. Considering that the sun and moon were worshipped there, I was glad that they were now ruins and not what they once were.

Pictures from Pisac:





Our next stop was in Urubamba where we encountered even more impressive Incan rocks. The ruins in Urubamba were of an unfinished temple and were some of the last Incan works before the Spanish conquest. My favorite things that I encountered in this place were the face of the Incan creator God, Wiracoccha carved on the side of the mountain and the metaphor of the little rocks.

Here's a pic of the face on the mountain:
Isn't it great how they built on top of his head to make it look like a crown?

Why little things matter!
One of the last building projects of the Incas involved really big carved rocks and little skinny rocks that were pushed in between them! Why did they build like this? Well, when an earthquake came all the pressure would be on the little rocks and not on the big ones. If the big ones were just stuck together, the earthquake would shake them and as they bounced against each other they would split and break apart.

As soon as I heard this I knew that there had to be a great spiritual lesson! I'm sure there might be a better explanation but I think these rocks are a great example of our walk with the Lord. We tend to think about mountain top experiences (ie BIG rocks) as being the important part of our relationship but really it's the everyday time in His presence. The every day "small" conversation and the every day time in His word that sustains us. If we don't have this day to day "small" stuff our spiritual life will crack and break when the trials and earthquakes come.

So, the little rocks are important! Thus were the thoughts forming in my brain as I stared at those impressive ancient Incan carved rocks. Here are some pics of those rocks and the ruins at Urubamba:



Our last stop on the tour was the town of Chincero where we saw a demonstration on how wool is dyed and turned into yarn. It was great to see how they cleaned the wool with a natural root and then dyed the wool with various natural products like plants or fruits or roots. We also visited a old church in that town which was a typical combination of hand painted simple frescos, Cusqueña style paintings and objects that were hideously overdecorated with gold and other decoration. Whenever I go into a church like that I almost feel overwhelmed with the excess of things crammed into the space.

Despite my slight fever, I had a great day exploring the Sacred Valley!

Here are pics from Chincero: