Thursday: Today, we woke up early and got dressed to go stand in line at the museum which holds Michelangelo's DAVID. We didn't have reservations, which everyone told us was a big No-no because the "No Reservation" line takes much longer to get moving. But I'd looked up the opening time on the internet, and decided we should try to get in line before it opened and take our chances.
(And since, in my life, I do not believe in CHANCE, but DESTINY and DIVINE APPOINTMENT, I said a prayer for favor as we began to walk that way.)
We got there and were 12th in line. But when the doors opened at 8:15, we stood there for 20 minutes, with no movement. I told Stephen, "Let's wait 30 minutes, okay?" And he agreed.
Not five minutes later, though, we were being ushered into the museum.
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When we turned the corner of the first room and started into the long corridor in the next, my eyes were immediately drawn to it: Michelangelo's DAVID.
It is more than what you expect--much larger, more impressive than what any of the greatest photographs can portray. I was utterly in awe. And, on the path to this incredible statue, were other, unfinished, works by this amazing sculptor.
They were unfinished, but you could see the figures emerging from the marble. I remember reading that Michelangelo believed that when he got a slab of marble, there was a figure within it. It was his job to unearth it, to free it. That's EXACTLY the feeling I got from all of these unfinished figures. To add to this, the statues were a series of "Slaves." I thought it interesting that these figures actually looked more like slaves, imprisoned in the marble.
I wondered at it. I thought it looked "finished" to me. Very powerful "unfinished" work.
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We spent nearly two full hours walking around the Accademia, looking at paintings, sculptures, instruments from CENTURIES ago. It was incredible, absolutely incredible.
I suppose one of the greatest moments of all was when I was sitting on one of the benches surrounding the statue of DAVID. I was nearly overcome by the BLESSING of it all. God Almighty had brought me here.
Say what you will. But He most certainly did.
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Before I met Stephen, I had made arrangements to go on a tour of Rome, Florence, and Spain. I was making monthly payments to go and had deposited nearly $2,000 into the tour account when he asked me to marry him.
Going to Italy had been a dream of mine, but meeting Stephen and getting married was a dream-come-true as well. So, I cancelled my trip and used the money for my wedding.
I didn't know if I would ever get the opportunity to go again.
Recently, a friend of mine, Shalom Staats, reminded me of what I'd said to her when I cancelled my tour plans to get married. (She was going on the same tour.) She said that I'd told her that if God wanted me to go to Italy, He would make a way for my family to go.
I don't remember that, but she reminded me when she got news of this missions trip.
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I remember, several months ago in Community--our midweek service at Poteau First Assembly of God, a moment where I was talking about how God changes us, over time, so thoroughly.
I mentioned how much I loved to travel--that it has always been a great passion of mine--and how, when I was younger, I hung maps of the world all around my room and stood, staring, at country and city names for HOURS, thinking about the people there, imagining what they were doing there, wondering at how large this world is.
In college, I recall wondering if I'd ever be able to go and travel, see anything, knowing how expensive things are--and how meager the teacher's salary.
Two things about this:
One, my dad always told me that it's not about what kind of salary you make, it's about how you spend your salary, and your indebtedness. That I must be careful, as a teacher, not to get into too much debt, so I could afford to do the things I wanted to do.
Two, The Lord taught me in college not to set boundaries. I remember sitting on my couch in my one bedroom apartment in Tahlequah, thinking about an article I was staring at in NEWSWEEK. It featured two Broadway plays being produced and opening on Broadway that summer. I remember saying to myself, "I wish I could go see that play." And I said it in a way that suggested that I believed it would never be possible. That was when I heard a distinct voice say, "Why can't you go?" And the voice was within, not without. (No one lived with me in that apartment. I was completely by myself.) That moment was a moment that changed many things in my life--if not absolutely everything. Though, at the time, I didn't realize that voice was the voice of The Lord, it wasn't very many years later that I realized it had most definitely been Him.
And back to that night in Community:
I was talking about Michelangelo's piece and some other artwork from Italy. I remember saying to everyone how--as much as I wanted to go, I wasn't living my life for ME anymore. I was living my life for Him. I had to go wherever He needed me to go--which meant I may never see the artwork I wanted so badly to see.
I said, "Maybe there's a REASON He doesn't want me there, doesn't want me to see it." At this point, I started crying. And I said, "But I know our Lord. I know that it is His desire to give us the desires of our hearts, like presents. And it is possible that He might BLESS me with this one day."
And here we are.
With no plotting or planning on my part, He has brought us here, to the experience of a lifetime in Florence, Italy. Here we will get to see EVERYTHING, and here we will be able to contribute and share in what is He is doing here in Florence, Italy.
I'm so glad I trusted Him.
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Prayer: "Lord, I am utterly AMAZED by You. You are truly our AMAZING GOD. Thank you for your love, your patience. Thank you for taking our hands and gently guiding and leading us. I give you EVERYTHING, all of me, Lord. Use me as you see fit. I trust you."
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