Hot Like Rome in July

Today was hot. I walked into church putting on my mask thinking It’s really hot.

Like Rome in the summer hot.

My precious friends Amy and Josh, along with their kids, visited FBC today. As they talked to us about their ministry in Italy, I remembered how much I managed to sweat in Rome two years ago when Michele, Bob, and I visited them in July. If there are pictures of me, it was either first thing in the morning or late in the evening after I had a chance to cool down. It was hot.

Throughout this unique trip, I walked a lot and sweated a lot, but I discovered simple joys.

--I walked the Appian Way, never before imagining that moment for myself.

--I walked down the catacombs at San Sebastian, the church where Mother Teresa stayed during visits to Rome. Her life was spent in service to her Lord and dedicated to caring for the least of these. I could have stayed there all day.

--I walked out of a crowded metro into the sheer greatness of Rome's Coliseum and around city walls thousands of years old.

--I also walked right into a game of dominos and not the dominos of my childhood either. I visited a refugee center with men from various war torn Middle Eastern countries. They laughed with me. I was terrible at dominos, out of my league when it came to the math, and I did not speak Italian. One guy knew French, so for a precious few minutes, I learned that this Kurdish soldier loved his grandfather who taught him the legacy of playing dominoes well. I have never been so grateful to speak French.

--I walked the steps of Martin Luther.

Laughing, Josh reminded me today about his joke that everything in Rome was just ten minutes away. The only thing ten minutes away in Rome is the next hill. Two things my husband loves in life. To go on an adventure walk and to save money. In Rome, that meant walking to the nearest metro entrance rather than taking a taxi. Up the hills. In the really hot heat. Oh no- there are no pictures from that afternoon!

Josh and Amy are missionaries to refugees in Italy, and this morning Josh preached an inspirational sermon as he talked about their ministry in Rome. He also asked our congregation, “How are you being crushed?”

Josh explained it so well. Like an olive press harvests precious oil from an olive by crushing the fruit in stages, the pressures of life will harvest whatever I am filled with by crushing me.

How am I being crushed?
How can I exude God’s glory when I am pressed, shaken, and humbled?
I can exude His glory if I am filled with His spirit.

Then there were the songs in our service. Songs that spoke to me as powerfully as Josh’s sermon.
We’ve a Story to Tell
Christ is Enough
Wherever He Leads I’ll Go

And the bible verses. Matthew 26:36-46.
May this cup be taken from me. Not my will, but Your will be done.
Or in simpler terms…
This hurts, Lord. But let Your will be done.

Josh reminded me, when life is pressing in, we pray for His peace. We wear it like a garment covering the cracks and creases exposed from the press. We find God in beauty as well as in tragedy and grief. God will take my deepest sorrow and weave it into a pattern for good. If I choose His peace.

Choosing peace sometimes means remembering what to be grateful for in the middle of the mess.

Today,
I am grateful for people who inspire me and give me really good advice.
I am grateful for people who give me opportunities to be more.
I am grateful for people like Josh and Amy who remind me too keep my eyes open and pray.
I am grateful that all the beautiful people who are working together to do His Will… for reminding me to ask God to show me where I will go next For His Glory.

When I praise God with all that I am, I can say Your will be done.