2013 memories that make my heart happy
So much can happen in a year. Twentysomething and free...oh yes a year holds so much promise. However, part of me is a tiny bit doubtful that 2014 can top 2013... just glancing through the memories and throwing together a quick collage of some of moments makes me nostalgic for sure...exploring the streets of Italy with four other twentysomethings who happened to be the best traveling companions a girl could wish for, long summer days full of adventure at camp, my first semester of clinicals in nursing school, celebrating my 21st birthday surrounded by textbooks as I study for exams, a surprise visit from my best friend, being a maid of honor, and so much self-discovery...
One of the most surprising adventures of 2013 was my trip to Italy. Unexpected from the start, the way God worked out the details...wow
and the adventures in Venice and Florence and Rome... wow
so much happy...
Venice
Sometimes words are hard.
I want to tell of my adventures in Italy, but so much happened in those ten days, and how can words capture the awe and wonder I felt as I walked down the cobblestone streets that had felt the passage of centuries, and craned my neck to see up to the distant spires of the grand, beautiful buildings... walking through doorways that embrace thousands and finding rooms where the air is thick with history and footsteps are hushed in the presence of the great art and architecture. The cathedrals that seem to reach the very steps of heaven with the splendor of the sparkling stained glass windows and vaulted ceilings... that beckon you to come and kneel down, come and worship for the Lord is here. The excitement of finding the perfect little cafe on that out of the way alley, the exhilaration of the wind in your face and the mist from the Mediterranean sea tickling your nose on the vaporetta, the sweet goodness of stracciatella gelato sliding down your throat as the May sun kisses your face and the bustle of the city passes by... The Tuscan countryside flying by the window of the train, voices of varied cadence and language rising and falling in expression of emotion, standing shoulder to shoulder with strangers who are equally awestruck by the delicate yet fierce grandeur of the Forum and Colosseum... more cathedrals built to shout the splendor of our Savior and draw the eye ever upward in search of the Holy One...oh I wish I could just take you there! I don't know how to explain all I saw... brought to my knees in St. Peter's Basilica, moved to tears by the Peita, stilled by wonder in the Sistine Chapel, softly stepping through the maze of the catacombs while hearing of the early Christians who first met as the Roman church in those dark depths...
Roman Forum
And somewhere along the journey I found myself. Why I had to go to Italy, I don't know. Maybe I needed to be reminded how much bigger and older and grander this world is in comparison to myself. I needed to see the legacy left by great people and more importantly the legacy of people who did great Kingdom work. A pilgrimage of sorts, the climax-- reaching St. Peter's Basilica on Pentecost... just another day to most, but a striking reminder to me of what God can do with people who are completely sold out to him...
"When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place...and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit...Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone who the Lord our God calls to himself..." (Acts 2). The promise that He is within me, He is our Savior, and He will guide me. So much peace. It's okay to grow up, it's okay that things change... because I know the Unchanging One who is, has been, and will be...He is worthy of all of my worship.
inside St. Peter's Basilica
I am so grateful for the freedom to travel and explore, it is truly the greatest gift to receive... because there's so much to discover about the world and my place in it. I love to learn, always seeking to see more of the Lord in every encounter, every footstep...And perhaps the most joyful discovery: no matter where in the world I go, He is never far from me.
"The God who made the world and everything in it, being the Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us." Acts 17:24-27
Ciao until next time ~Amanda
