Valencia, Spain

Today, we took a 2-hour road trip to Valencia, Spain. Upon arrival and about half way through my first glass of vino rosado, rose wine, I wrote this:

I sat in small cafe in a narrow alley in the heart of Valencia. 

If you sit still long enough, you can feel the heart beat. Of the city. Of the life and the people that pass through. Every person who walks by reminds you of someone you once knew. Once upon a time, when you were different. 

I am overcome with emotion. I can't stop the tears. Everything from the tiny windows of the apartments that overlook the square to the skinny man with long hair that strums his guitar, mumbling words I can't understand. 

How did I get here?

How did that woman notice my smile and my tears at the same time, and smile back at me with a gentleness I can feel in my soul.... Those three sisters, they look so much alike, but I can see the differences in their souls. Because I am them and they are me. 

Then, as if out of no where, a blind man walks up and begins to play his guitar, but it is not just a song he plays, but his heart plays... Just out there in the open. Take it or leave it. He doesn't care either way. You're either moved by the music, or you're not. That is your choice and none of his business.  

All I can hear is, "This is how much I love you, my darling. I have made this moment just for you." 

And I weep. 

Awkwardly, in the middle of the day, sitting at a cafe, in normal surroundings, I weep. Because God is there and He has invited me to see. To feel. To be. 

I am a part of all that I witness. I am the person who walks by, the one who is nervous, stressed, excited, or joyful. I am the one who drinks to ignore and the one who drinks to feel more.

I am the one who walks into the ancient cathedral and weeps at the feet of the statue of the Crucifix. I am that. I feel that.  

Valencia, my darling, you ignited something inside me. And for that, I am eternally grateful. 

I will seek you in all my travels, in all my adventures. May I always find a glass of vino rosado that brings me to tears