Written by a close friend who joined our family on our Tuscan Holiday–
A long, long trip, only to be at home again:
strikingly different locale, not with my everyday circle,
but still at home among friends as dear as family.
The heat of both midsummer and midday
more than compensated for by the constant refreshing breeze:
I am thankful for the wind, for the wind and the rocks.
The countless rocks!
walled cities and stone villas built right into the Tuscan hillsides;
massive churches built into and out of the very lives of ancient, heavenly-minded people—
each small town with a dozen of them.
The wind and the rocks—they both speak of the Deity:
He only is the sure foundation,
He only is the source of life and movement.
Day trips exploring timeworn edifices with timeless artwork;
good books drowsily read, and better conversations by poolside pursued,
with surprising segues and tangentialities, and genuine paradoxes…
Like the wind and the rocks:
the one strong and immovable, stable and utterly reliable;
the other free and constantly active, flexible and adaptable.
Like our dual need to be prepared, resourceful, proactive, and confident;
yet also always receptive and open to correction, waiting and trusting;
indeed, we must act in love, we must also wait in faith.
June 21, 2017