Traveller

My favourite part of our trip to Europe was our day in Venice.  We got up early and caught the first vaporetti into the city with everyone going to work; so early that mist still lay over the canals, so early that silence and stillness still held their place where hustle and bustle eventually win.  I love this photo.  It captures our day, and it captures more…

We had no idea that we were going to visit Venice. 

Our plan had been to catch the ferry from Bari, following a week in Pompeii with my sister, to Bar in Montenegro, to spend a week with my cousin.  It hadn’t occurred to us that we might be a great deal too early in the season for the ferry to be running.  And so, as we came to terms with the very long journey it is to travel from Pompeii to Podgoriza by road, we realised that Venice was en route, and more than that, a perfect half way point to break the journey.

I loved Venice.  I loved that this was what our broken plans gave us.  And I love what I’ve learned about breakages. 

There’s always something new to be created.

Whilst we were in Venice, a friend following our travels recommended a book that she thought I would enjoy, especially as it was set in Venice. 

Miss Garnet’s Angel, by Salley Vickers. 

A beautiful book.  With that same beautiful message;

there’s always something new to be created.

It’s a learning that I have reflected on over our travels.

What a privilege it is to be able to travel.  To have this pocket of time to spend together remembering what it was like to be a team of two when we first met, my husband and I.  Before other things.  Healthy.  It has been a while since I have felt this much freedom. 

It has been a time of enjoying being in the present moment, rolling with the days and any unexpectednesses.  It has been a time of connecting with family and friends, and also with places.  It has been a time of letting go of the season that has been and that has now gone, and a time of knowing that when we return home to New Zealand, it will be time for my new season, our new season, to begin.  Together. 

There’s always something new to be created.

Just like my photo of Venice, it is a little misty ahead.

Possibilities appear in the mists ahead, one at a time, only one at a time, clarity tantalisingly close, the full picture still out of reach.  And that’s ok while we are away., while we are enjoying being in the present moment; the future doesn’t need to be clear.  It is something to dream into and ask questions about, without needing immediate answers.

Who am I now?  Where am I purposed to be now?  What am I purposed to do now?

In the Bible we are all called to be light, but there are many kinds of light.  We are called to place our light on a lampstand to be seen, but there are many places to be in the wide, wide world.  And we are called to a purpose that is especially for us, for which we have a unique combination of gifts and talents, including our light and our lampstand, that give us everything we need. 

I have found that I am moonlight, not always seen, but always there, always felt, travelling around the world, bringing a gentle light to darkness, bringing clarity, a pathfinder and a waymaker.

I love this discovery.  I know that it’s authentically me.  I wonder how this will outwork?

Everyone wants to be the sun, to lighten up someone’s life, but why not be the moon, to brighten in the darkest hour?