Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Unexpected Appointments

My church back home is doing a 40-day prayer challenge that goes along with a book called, Drawing the Circle. Each day, there's a devotional you read, and then you pray. You journal, think, talk, and it's supposed to be an amazing 40-day experience, that can actually change the course of your entire life. My mom asked my family if we wanted to all do it together. I'm here in Spain, my sister is in Santa Barbara for college, and my parents in Stockton, she thought it would be a really cool thing for us to do together so we can be closer in spite of the distances between all of us. So we started it exactly one week ago today, and it's been really cool so far!

Last Thursday I had a little break in between classes at the high school, and decided to go to El Nuevo Rupert, a bar that's close to the school, to have a coffee, a Semana Santa donut (pastries and treats can be quite seasonal or holiday specific here), and hang with God to do my devotional/meditation/prayer. So after ordering my coffee and donut, which casually turned into two when he just put them on my plate, in spite of me only ordering one (que pena, what a shame), I went to sit at a table and get down with my Papa God!

There happened to be two other people in this little outdoor seating area, both at their own tables alone. I'm not quite sure how the conversation got started between the elderly lady and I (it's Andalucia, so I'm really not surprised), but I mentioned that I was coming to sit out here because it was so loud inside, and I was going to do some meditation. After returning to the table with my Americano, the older man at his table asked me what kind of meditation I was doing, and I told him about what it was, and we began talking. And in the maybe 10-15 minutes that we spent talking, we covered such a range of topics, and it was an encounter that left me feeling so full of love, light, and confidence in the path I'm on.

We talked about where I'm from and what I'm doing here, and I told him that I love Sevilla so much, but I'm also kind of ready to try somewhere new. He then proceeded to tell me all about his son, who lived in China for a number of years, spent a year traveling around the world, did a year traveling the United States, and an array of other places and things, including his own time spent living in China, how the people are, and other facets of his life. I told him about my plans to work two jobs for another year, and then take a year to travel the world and do volunteer work. He told me that when I go to Asia, I'm going to stay there for a very long time, and I agreed. And I told him that I wanted to experience as much of the world as I possibly could, and he told me he knew I would.

His faith in me and the plans and ideas I have for my life, after just knowing me for 10 minutes, was astonishing, and gave me such a lift. He believed in me, and could tell just by meeting me, that everything I said I wanted and was going to do, was going to happen. It's not everyday people support you when they hear about your plans to spend most of the next five years of your life with nothing more than a backpack and heart full of love. But he did. And he gave me the greatest gift anyone possibly could: heartfelt support and understanding.

We mostly talked about travel, and how important it is, but we also talked a bit about life, learning, and really living a happy, full life. And by the time we bid our a' dues, I was so, so happy that I hadn't let the "I just came here to meditate and now this man won't stop talking to me" thoughts conquer the moment. I remained open, and kept myself fully, 100% in the moment, and it was such a marvelous decision, that led to a truly blessed moment. Upon our good-byes, he told me he was going to leave me with his final words, which, as they came into my conscious space, were well-received and magnificent,

"Open heart. Open mind. Travel a lot, as much as you can. You're young, and have a lot of life to live. There's a lot to see in the world. There are a lot of good people who can teach you a lot of things and show you things you didn't know before. And always, stay in touch with your family."
 
And after he left, and I opened my devotional book to begin, I began to laugh, as I read that the concept of the day's devotional and prayer was about appointments that God makes for us. Each step is established by God. He makes appointments for us, but it's up to us to keep them. I'm so happy I don't have to sit here and wonder what would have happened if I'd talked to that man instead of shutting him out to do my devotional. It was a truly blessed morning and moment. Thank you <3
 

Blessings, Love & Light to you all!
 
As well as deep hopes that you all remain open to all that happens in your life. There's a blessing to be found in every situation, whether we see it immediately, or not. Stay in the moment, always
Be Here Now
<3