To Explore Inside the Vatican

 Vatican "Swiss Guard" in still used Renaissance uniform.

 

 Jane and Pops taking in the grandeur.

 

Peter's intrigue in the Latin language increases ...

 

Interior view of the dome ...

 The magnificent Pieta. How marble can look soft and liquid, I'll never know, but we all stood transfixed by the emotion represented in Christ's body.

 Another dome, because they were just so cool.

Pops trying to get yet another photo where it looks like the children are holding up some piece of architecture.  

This was right before the children became so tired of all the marveling and sat down on the floor and we were reprimanded sternly by a severely faced Italian guard that there was no sitting on holy floor no matter what your age. The kids stood back up.

  ... and the view below as we began our climb upwards towards St. Peter's basilica ...

Stand at the crossroads and look ...

 I have been contemplative, of late. Upon the growing list of things I feel compelled to mind-wrestle, is ... the blog. Do I continue? Do I dedicate time to this mode of self-expression? One that has provided a platform for showing myself what my days do really accomplish.

I am not sure, to be honest. I truly cannot commit the time that I once did, as I simply do not have as much of it. It has been allocated to many other good things, but one can only do so much, no?

But yet, I am reticent to stop completely. Scared, perhaps to lose the connection to myself, my life, and the intentionality that comes with examining what God has brought to me today to think upon.

 
When we were in Rome, this spring, one of the excursions we truly enjoyed was our time at the Vatican. Regardless of your spiritual leanings, it is a place to marvel. The magnitude. The grandeur. The history.

But in spite of the reverential feel, both Pops and I felt a bit of a disconnect between the intention of honoring God and truly cultivating a relationship with him. Does God's presence reside more fully in the Vatican than in a country church, or a village prayer meeting?

 
A rhetorical question, to be sure. But one to remind me to be seeking God where I am at, today.

 
To glory in the opportunities of the day. 

 
Be it strolling the paths of the ancients before me,

 
Or walking the path of the Ancient One.

To blog or not to blog? No commitments either way. We shall see. But intentional reflection reminds me that my mind is a noisy place. It forces me to chew through the chatter of my thoughts.

And this always, always leads me back to is the knowledge that He is worth pursuing. He is worth my time. He is what quiets my spirit and gives direction to my steps.

And this is good.

Stand at the crossroads and look;
    ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
    and you will find rest for your souls.

Jeremiah 6:16