When in Roma
A year ago, on my last adventure in
Italy, I never would’ve imagined I’d be returning so soon. I vividly remember
my final night in Rome when I stayed up all night making memories and only got
45 minutes of actual sleep. (10/10 would recommend honestly-soak it all up!) I
had a different ideal of my Italy adventures prior to stepping off the plane.
Fantasies of faking being sick like Lizzie Mcguire and finding an Italian
prince charming next to the Trevi Fountain or The Ponte Vecchio, or maybe
running off to Tuscany and buying my own house and having my own adventures
like a mix of Portrait of
Emily Price and Under the
Tuscan Sun. None of this would top the magical trip Audrey Hepburn
takes in A Roman
Holiday-maybe without the sedative though. There is also the option of
solving a romantic mystery like Letters to
Juliet and taking a car ride through the Tuscan countryside and
meeting a cute British guy who speaks English and can’t stand me.
While there are many
stories that stick out to me, one moment I remember making me so happy was on a
free day in Rome. A few of my friends and I landed at a tiny café that had just
opened and they made me a delicious sweet espresso in a tiny tiny cup. I
couldn’t stop smiling because, of course, what’s better than espresso, tiny
things, and good friends? Oh yeah, Rome. Anyways, sometimes I put myself back
in that chair and that table outside the café and remember just how surreal it
was. It can be so easy to get distracted with a fast paced itinerary and
tourist attractions and forget to pause and simply enjoy. I took a snapshot
that day. Not the one of my friend Cedar and I fake talking, but one in my
mind’s eye and it still moves like a Hogwart’s portrait. Anytime I can go back
and live in that moment and enjoy it.
Many many many moments
like that happen every day, whether at school in choir, studying in the
library, or eating in the stu. I have many of them at home with my little
brother, in the car with my mom, or on a coffee date with my friend Melody. But
for some reason the colors seem just a bit brighter in Italy. The Lord gives us
these simple, beautiful moments to relish in them and remember that He is the
giver. Even when the colors seem dull, he is the creative artist who gives
color to my gray days and even just a glimmer of light will always interrupt
the darkness.
As I return to Italy in
a few days (Tuesday, I leave Tuesday…it’s crazy I can’t believe it!!!) I can’t
help but remember one moment I had in Assisi on our last day there. We walked
out of St. Francis Basilica and were captivated by the most gorgeous view of
the countryside, it seemed to stretch out for miles and miles. It was stunning.
But even more beautiful was a moment an Italian couple was sharing on a bench
outside. Backdropped by the landscape, a young woman was sobbing in Italian as
her husband knelt beside her holding their infant. I didn’t know what was
wrong, nor did I need to know in order to realize the gravity and the intimacy
of that moment. It brought tears to my eyes. It was just as beautiful to me as
the landscape and just as memorable.
It makes me think, here
in Texas. Not the Italian countryside. How many moments like this do I miss?
How many times do I miss Him revealing these moments as if to say, “I’m with
you, I see you, and I am not letting you walk this alone.” It’s remarkable how
these moments captivate our hearts and help us to see His love for us
differently. It’s easy to only see Him one way. He is omnipotent and
omnipresent. All-powerful, yet all-seeing. With me always AND with you always.
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| View from Assisi |
Look for one of these moments today. Whether you’re in Fort Worth, Arkansas, Poland, New York, Assisi, or Santa Fe.
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