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| Matt at the Cathedral of Segovia |
Matt and I returned last night from a fabulous trip to Madrid for Matt's work. I knew he would need moral support for his presentation, so I graciously agreed to accompany him. Or... I really wanted to spend time with my husband and see Madrid. Whatever.
While we were galavanting around Spain, our children were cared for by their amazing grandparents. They were still in one piece when we returned (grandparents and children), so we'll count that a victory. It may take the grandparents days to recover, but they persevered when it counted. As any parent knows, you do not ease into life after time away. When there are kids involved, you hit the ground running... even if you started the day at 2 a.m. over 5,000 miles away.
So this morning after doing a few loads of laundry, contemplating the rest of the activities for the week, assessing the refrigerator situation (Can we make it one more day before I go to the grocery store? I say "yes." Mac and cheese is a meal, right?), packing snacks and water bottles, locating missing shoes (and the dog's collar and a handful of other items), my mind began to wander.
On our last day in Spain, we made a spur of the moment decision to take a train to Segovia. The beautiful old city is known for its Roman aqueducts, its fairytale castle where Queen Isabella was crowned and later married Ferdinand (It is also supposedly an inspiration for Cinderella's castle at Disney World.), and its cathedral. Construction on the cathedral began in 1525, but was not completed until 1768. It was the last Gothic church built in Spain. As I marveled at the painstaking attention to detail, my eyes were drawn upward to the intricate ceiling. One of our travel companions remarked that the ceilings were built incredibly high (108 feet) so that you couldn't help but look toward Heaven. Yep. It worked. They were mesmerizing.
As I loaded the dishwasher and folded laundry this morning, I thought, "I could use one of those ceilings." Not the extravagant opulence of a cathedral ceiling, but a reminder to LOOK UP. One of my favorite things about Europeans is the way they take their time. Meals are an event. Shops close for a few hours in the afternoon. Great value is placed on family. So, in the midst of the day-to-day rushing that is American life, I am vowing to slow down and look up. God hasn't gone anywhere. He's still there...waiting, longing for us to see Him in our own cathedrals. The ones with smudged handprints on the glass and spilled milk on the floors. The ones with miniature princes and princesses longing for an extra snuggle or one more book. If we are so intent on looking straight ahead, hitting our marks, checking the boxes, we just might miss it. After all, there is a beautiful life to be found and lived when we LOOK. UP.
