So now that I'm home, I sit here thinking about everything that has happened in the last 3 weeks and think to myself "Wow, did that really happen?" This morning when I woke up after a very restful night's sleep (in my own bed!! With my own cats!!!), I pulled out my picture book of Greece I recieved last Christmas from my mom and opened it. "I have been there and there and there and there and oh yeah, there..."well, you get the idea. Mom and dad were floored at all that I had seen. "You've seen half that book!!!" Dad commented. I couldn't help but smile. I will definitely be pinching myself and thinking, "Did that really happen? Was it a dream??" For some time. The defining moment of the trip for me personally, though, was Osios Lukas Monastery. It was the first time I had ever been in a place like that, a place where I could literally feel the history around me. I remember everything about it very clearly. The smell of the incense that told us liturgy had taken place there that morning, looking up and seeing the Pantocrator looking down at me, the very rich colors of the mosaics, and more. I just loved the way it felt being in such an old space. Seeing all those churches and all that beauty that we just don't get in the States around every corner it seemed in Greece is something I never took for granted. In contrast to the bustling streets of Athens, which is all we had seen before Osios Lukas, the monastery seemed to be the most quiet and peaceful place I have ever been. Feeling that peace, and knowing that centuries of peace had been provided in that space, there wasn't a place I would ratber have been in that moment. It definitely changed my outlook being in a place 1,000 years old with that much history. I will always look back on that experience and remember the feeling of peace I had in that space.
comments:
There are currently no comments.
Post a Comment