41 Things.

Sorry,  Michele. 

In the hours before I boarded the bus to the airport to leave Gaming forever, I did two important things. If you were wondering, this does not include the 110% score my roommates and I received on our final room check, which was a miracle in itself, although that was a large part of my Gaming experience. I mean that place was sparkling! It's a big deal! I digress.

Anyway, the two things. I knelt down and picked up a big handful of that crunchy courtyard gravel, a sound I will never forget. If you've never been to the Kartause, it's not as weird as it seems, trust me. Before I went, a friend shared that very gravel as her favorite memory and I laughed at the time, but it's a real thing! (I kept it...that part might be a little weird, I'll admit.)

Earlier that night, I was sitting in the Sacred Heart Chapel in the Kartause for the last time. As I gazed upon my Lover in that ancient, hallowed place, I began to write a list. I decided I was going to write down everything I learned that semester, one by one. I ended up with 41 things before I left the chapel, but that is a list that I will always be adding more to.

Sacred Heart Chapel,  Maria Thron church.

After I walked out of that beloved chapel, I never re-read that list until a few days ago. I was actually shocked at how insightful those things actually were! If it wasn't my own handwriting, I would not believe that I wrote them because I don't even remember writing 95% of them. It was a Holy Spirit infused list, for sure. So for the sake of many of my best friends who are embarking on their own European journey in a few short weeks, and for the sake those who may never get to go, I will share that list with you. Rather than just dumping all 41 at once, I will be listing them and explaining them little by little in the weeks to come. I hope they give you even a fraction of the peace that they have brought me.

"Lo, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet." [1 Corinthians 15:51-52]