Very dramatic title… and not as significant as similar statements from John the Baptiser and on the lips of Jesus, but somewhat significant for us. Well we were so sure we would be going on Friday, so maybe this is the first plan of ours not to be exactly as we envisioned it? (Cut us some slack even Paul twice tried to move in a direction and the Holy Spirit had to resist him… oh and least he had a dream of a ‘man’ in Macedonia so followed the dream and met a… woman.)
We were not ready on Friday but today has arrived. And I also had ordered a package on Oct. 15th that I was unaware was sourced in China. It was due Friday, but they could not deliver it on Friday. Apparently a traffic issue; digging a little deeper the ‘last mile’ of the company is delivered by electric scooters – I think the traffic issue was the battery needed recharging. Anyway after multiple contacts with the company it arrived yesterday.
Anyway we are now an hour or so away from going ‘por la mañana’. That last phrase is definite – ‘in the morning’, but we (in good Spanish custom) when asked about when we are going could always reply (until today) with ‘mañana’. We think that might mean ‘tomorrow’, and it kinda does but also means ‘not today’. In English we have all kinds of ways to express uncertainty, but the (joke) in Spanish is they have nothing as definite as those phrases, they do have that word ‘mañana’ but it is certainly not as definite as ‘maybe’, ‘one day sometime’ etc. Anyway ‘mañana por la mañana’ has come and we will be gone – as soon as cup of coffee is drunk, floors are washed.
Tonight France, Sunday Germany to be with Yannick and Jenny in Freiberg, then head south through Switzerland (I bought a year long permit yesterday to drive through Switzerland – runs out in January, so a little peeved that we will only use the permit for a few hours), to Italy… not sure how many stops en route (my schoolboy French, along with the word ‘le weekend’) and down to the ferry.
And then? Well we have nowhere scheduled, do not have a place to stay (come on AirBnB sort out your prices), and have no fixed plan. Old capital of Syracuse, cities of Messina, Catania and Palermo (where or nearby where we think we will settle) will certainly be visited… and definitely Agrigento: try this to get an idea of one of the 7 preserved temples there:
An adventure for sure but like us all we take a small step / short drive to make a contribution to the recovery of the Pauline gospel…that good news that we can ‘see’ a new creation and be heralds of and witnesses to that future.
As a wise and seasoned prophetic voice shared with us so long ago now, “coming soon” can mean several millennia, imminent – several decades… I’d always hoped my hero Caleb’s 45 years wait was, after years of initial joking about its possibility for me, to be my “time has arrived”! Not so Mr. Starter – I’m 79, and it’s been 47 years now, waiting for the beginnings at least, of fulfilment. So I’m now confidently assured any “delay” always increases my needed preparation, and the completed coming together of all the treasures awaiting up ahead. In Him, time waiting enjoyed or endured, is guaranteed interest accrued! So good you guys got God’s “green light” – goal to go!