We're Not Coming Home...

For those of you following along, you know it was our plan to soon head in the Westward direction.

After leaving Trgelio, we drove North to where Italy borders France and Switzerland. There, at the base of the Alps is the city of Turin. We stayed at the apartment of a friend of ours for a few days before we heading on towards Venice.

Turin is a large, cosmopolitan city much like San Francisco or New York. We parked our car and didn’t move it the entire time we were there. Instead, we took the metro, tram or just walked to get to where we wanted to go.

It is an exciting city at night, especially with Christmas holiday quickly approaching. I think it was the first time we realized how quickly time had flown by. Summer nights walking or riding our bikes in Spain have been suddenly replaced by the busyness and excitement of a large city at Christmas time. Both so very beautiful but in very different ways.

We have been blessed beyond what words can ever say. How would one ever describe all the physical beauty, the richness of history, and the participation in many different cultures to any one? Or how it feels to walk through Petra, then climb to and stand on the top of the world and see the handiwork of God and his gifts of creation to us? The beauty in the stillness of the desert, the sounds and smells of the spice markets in Morocco, or the surprise quaintness of Gibraltar? There are no words to describe the vast night skyline with a million stars or just the sun setting… anywhere. There are orange groves in both Sicily and Sevilla for miles on end with a scent so sweet that the thought of it will always evoke the sweetest of memories for us. The beautiful Chestnut forests and the never-ending groves of olive trees in Greece are forever imprinted on our hearts and souls. We can never forget the towns that are built into the mountains whose daily life is reminiscent of a bygone era. Or food so good you wake up longing for your next meal. The list could go on for days but the real richness and blessings came with the people we met and the life we lead. And most importantly, the time we took to enjoy it.

We will have myriads of pictures to show you and a thousand stories to tell but it was the gift of time that still takes our breath away. Because, with time, came the prayer that we would not go back. And… we are not. Not to the way we were before we left.

We realized there was a depth to our life we had been missing. The businesses of our lives have robbed us of the time to pursue and cultivate so many things. Our time in Israel and the Middle East reminded us of how very little we know of the history of this area and we want to study and learn more. Our basics skills of foreign languages have stimulated a desire in us to continue with our language studies, perhaps a bit more diligently. I have always-wanted to learn to play the piano and I think now is the time. We’ve read countless books and learned so many things we never had the time to consider before. We want this to continue.

The relationships we developed while on our sabbatical were not solely indicative of the places we were, but more likely, it was us making the time to cultivate them. Conversations over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine with some one you have just met are positively delightful and invaluable. We want to continue this when we return and you are on our list of people to spend time with.

This time has also reminded us how much we really like each other and want to continue to tend to our relationship and our time together.

We have learned so much and realize we have so much to learn. And while our lives have been spent pursuing fine and noble things, we feel we have entered a season of change. What that is exactly, is up to God. Our job is to unencumber our lives and to hear the direction we are being called to. In the mean time, we want to be purposeful about what we do and how we spend our time.

With that said; yes, you will see us shortly. We are near Venice and hope to get a flight out at the end of the week. The places we've been, the people we've met have left footprints upon our hearts and soul and we will never be the same. But, for those of you reading this, please know that you are our hearts, you are our home and you are the reason we return. We so look forward to the time when we can be with you again. Yes indeed, we are so very blessed!