Sun in Spain, Snow in Rome

 Two days after I returned from Southern California, I went to Spain for a gathering of ICS and STINTers from a few of the areas we serve in. It was a time of being with long time friends and meeting new friends, worshiping in English and hearing from the Word. It did my heart good.

      There are very few things which bring peace to my soul as quickly as the ocean does. I am instantly captured by the greatness of God and the smallness of myself. As the sand, the stones and shells are tossed by the ever approaching waves, I see the beauty and refinement that is produced.
      Similarly, without the Holy Spirit's prompting, re-directing and reminding; I would be unrefined. When I see the beauty in nature I have to surrender yet again to the work of the Lord in my life.

     When I arrived back in Rome... it was snowing. The first real snow since the mid 80's. The whole city is slowed down. There is a 36-hour ban on driving in the city without chains on your car.
     As I arrived in Rome, I debated which mode of transportation to take back to my apartment. I decided on a taxi, joined the looooong line and waited. As I got to the front of the line, people were discussing a problem with the metro that was impeding the travel of cars. hmmm...
    I was rejoicing in the way the Lord cares for me as the woman behind me in line shared that she needed to take the taxi just 1km from my apartment. We shared the taxi and thus cut our costs in half!  God is good!