Or, How Visiting Italy Introduced Me To The Concept of ‘Contemplation & Action’
“This time last year.” Do you ever find yourself thinking that? Perhaps this time last year you were just entering a new stage of your life? Maybe this time last year you were starting a new job, or finding yourself without a job? This time last year could have been the beginning of a really difficult year—and you didn’t know what was ahead, so as you reflect on this time last year you find yourself wanting to go back…
I do, I want to go back. This time last year I was exploring Italy with my best friend (who also happens to be my husband of four years) It was as if the travel guides and history books came to life—architecture, art, idyllic Tuscan countryside. And the culinary experience! Not to get too EPL in this blog post—but who wouldn’t want to go back to that!?
Our journey started in Rome. (I’ll spare you the long story about the adventure from the airport to the hotel—the driver that our travel agent had arranged didn’t show…but we made it!) We wore ourselves out with all the “must- dos” in that city! Adjusting to the time change and going non-stop made for a very full time in Rome. By the time we got off the train in Monterrosso (La Spezia region on the coast) we were ready for vacation! As we took in the perfection of the cliffs falling into the Mediterranean Sea, it was as if my body sighed, “Thank you! THIS is what I need!”
As we hiked the Cinque Terre (a national park/hiking trail that connects the five villages along the Italian coast) we discussed man-created beauty vs. God’s (created) beauty. We compared and contrasted what we had just experienced in Rome to this new landscape. St. Peter’s Basilica (and the Pieta for that matter!), to the view in Riomaggiore–both places we were literally stopped in our tracks by beauty. Those cities are so very different. The pace of life was so very different.
Sometimes in my journey with God I have “this time last year” moments. I reminisce about ‘better’ times…often, times that involved a slower pace. I think about times when perhaps I was more intentional about spending time with the Lord or reading the Word. I compare and contrast my own spiritual life over the years—where I’ve been, and where I am currently in relationship to God. And, I’m also guilty of comparing it with others’ journeys—as if it were possible compare Rome to Riomaggiore!?
We learned the important distinction between travel and vacation on that trip. Both are necessary in order to experience a new place. God has also taught me about contemplation and action, and how both postures are vital to my relationship with Him.
Want More?
The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Join the Conversation
Have you, like Joannah, thought fondly about your past with God? What was different than it is now?
What is your “this time last year” and how can you become aware of the beauty that is happening around you at this present moment?
 Joannah Sadler, LMFT, who is our Managing Editor and also looks after our Features section, divides her time between part time work for the journal, teaching, and working at Richmont Graduate University as a therapist. Joannah is married to Jason and lives in Atlanta.
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