Since being in Spain for the past 5 or 6 weeks, the transformation of my worldview has been incredible. Just to summarize, the use of resources here such as electricity and water is incredible. We use every second of daylight we have and not an ounce of water more than we ever need.
What I would really like to talk about and reflect on is something that has really been on my mind lately.
About a week and a half ago my girlfriend Jill and I were chatting and she was telling me about some disappointment she had after another friend of ours came over and was not exactly accepting of the food Jill and her roommate had prepared, also the other friend was not very pleased with the accommodations of the apartment so it just provided for a very tough atmosphere to love.
As we were discussing the events of the night and the storm had calmed, Jill and I realized that why she was disappointed was that she had expected a reaction, a positive reaction, and what she received what not what she had perceived or expected. This then brought us to the point where we realized, true service, true love, does not expect anything in return.
It is so simple and fundamental, and as always, I feel that we always overlook those little details. Jill told me that if she had really been doing it for service in her heart, the negative feedback would have felt a little different and instead of an angry frustration it would have been a feeling of trying to continue serving this person until they were satisfied.
Jill is pretty amazing and this was just one example of a conversation I have been lucky enough to have and through this conversation, it opened my eyes to the service of my host mother here in Spain.
To quickly describe my house mother, she serves and loves her family because they don't have jobs in this economic crisis, and she does not have enough resources to do as much as she does, she then serves me every single day even when she knows I am fully capable of operating a toaster at 7 in the morning, she feels she still needs to get out of bed to push the button down for me. Incredible! Through this service and hearing her story, I have just seen this woman has truly lived. She has experienced it all, she has seen life born, she has witnessed death as she had to watch the passing of her husband from cancer, she has experienced new life in grand children, rejoiced in marriages, and struggled through family hardships, through dictatorships, through new republics and transferring of currencies.
The resume of her stories is just endless and absolutely incredible. I am so blessed to be able to have this person and this place to call home for a few weeks! I feel more than ever, God is just saying learn from this woman as much as you can, oh and do it all in another language please.
Aside from all of these blessings, there has been other challenges. Fun challenges at that. The other day I was challenged to try something new for 30 days, I figured since I am in a new country, why not capture 30 days worth of photos to tell the story or capture the moments of my time here in Spain. So here it is, for the next 30 days, I will attempt to take at least one photo a day and tell a little story about it.
In light of today, I will start with a photo of El Rastro, in Madrid. This is one of the worlds largest flea markets and this has gone on for every Sunday since the 18th century! I was so overwhelmed it was amazing. There was literally every type of product you could think, people from all over the world, and just a tremendous amount of energy in the streets! I was only able to capture a brief glimpse of the market in a few photos but I know the memories of this time will last a life time. I strongly suggest, if you're ever in Madrid on a Sunday, go to the Rastro. There are just miles and miles of vendors in the streets, I was able to walk around for 2 1/2 hours and I probably only saw about 50% of it. It is HUGE!
Needless to say this was an amazing experience and I am so happy that the prayers for adventure I had are being answered in such unique ways!
Hopefully you enjoy this little 30 day adventure.
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