“Renewal: a la Europe” is somewhat of a peculiar name for a travel blog. You’d probably expect to see something like “European Adventure” or “Europe 2011”. But this trip is more than just a five-week vacation for me.
Perhaps I’m foolish for putting too much pressure on this trip. But I choose to stay blissfully mesmerized by thoughts of strolling down tiny cobblestone streets with a fancy Italian coffee in hand as my gaze stays fixed on beautiful romantic buildings with so much color and detail to hardly handle. Maybe it was all the fairytales read to me as a child or the silly romantic movies I watched, set in cities of love such as Rome and Paris, I’m not sure; but I do know that I am totally and pathetically obsessed with the idea of Europe.
I feel a little silly putting into writing how much this trip means to me, but I truly do need a renewal. I’m afraid that if I don’t publically put in to writing to share this experience, then the impact of the trip won’t be as appreciated. We should share the joys and sorrows or our hearts so that others may celebrate with us in times of happiness or lift us up in times of hardship. I’ve been a bit down throughout my knee surgery recovery (ok, so maybe that’s an understatement) so while I’m not placing my entire emotional state in the outcome of this trip, I AM REALLY looking forward to not only being able to walk again, but being able to explore, run, frolic, and play on the continent where fairytales are written and real life castles reside.
Renewal: The act of making like new - restore to freshness, vigor, or perfection. Yep! That’s what I need. I believe God can and will give us that renewal. And I believe that he uses peculiar, sometimes funny, and sometimes grandiose things to do so…like a five week trip through multiple countries half-way across the world.
Renewed: a la Europe, here I come!
PS – Remember how I said God uses peculiar, sometimes funny things to renew us? Here are a few images of those smaller things in life that refresh my soul:
