The Good, Along with the Bad

Sometimes we just have bad starts to our day. You seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed and then later find yourself crying for no reason whatsoever. Well that was my beginning today. Woke up, felt seemingly invincible and ready to take on Espana (did I mention I was in Spain) and was ready to go. However, after church I just started crying- not that cute type of cry that everyone seems to have except you-it was the embarrassing, I need a tissue like now, type of cry. Why? Because I could not understand half of our service. It was one of those lonely days. Where nothing I heard in Spanish made sense. So, as anyone would, I just wanted to curl up and not do anything. However, when you try to push aside and not get in to your self pity party, the unexpected can happen and that, my friends, is what happened to me today. I walked away, not wanting to eat lunch with two friends because I was feeling depressed about not understanding a very, very fast speaking spanish service this morning. However, once we had some wonderful tapas and great conversation my attitude seemed to change. I became suddenly aware of how certain people come into your life at certain times, and much needed times at that. My friend Franaqa from Morocco provided just the comfort I needed. She was very nice and spoke slowly to me in Spanish and allowed me to try to enjoy our conversation. After, I went to the center with Katy and we sat in a Starbucks for hours and read. While Katy was getting her computer from her apartment, I scouted out seats for us and then did the usual throw your jacket over a couple of seats to save them-not sure the Spanish do that but oh well, it worked. As I was thinking and people watching, this lovely woman from Canada started to speak to me. What was only a slight question turned into the onset of a very long and blessed conversation. I was describing why I was in Seville and she in turn told me all about her trip around Spain and Portugal. We started discussing the monastery by Santiponce and she allowed me to recall as many details as I could from my earlier tour. Once Katy arrived we said the usual nice to meet you and carried on our way; however, right before she left she brought up conversation again and told me to enjoy the time I have and that I have such a neat future ahead because of the adventures I have had thus far. Exactly what I needed. It is funny how the Lord can use people to speak through and I believe that she was an angel meant exactly for me. She brightened my day and encouraged me. It was such a nice break from walking around and the heat and it lifted my spirits too. Then, if we hadn't had enough Starbucks we met up with a friend Manula who made the rest of our afternoon absolutely hilarious. Spaniards are funny. We literally laughed all afternoon and I seriously, laughed away my tears and any thoughts about throwing a pity party quickly vanished. Then later that night, I came home to my piso and went on a great walk with my host sister. The rest of the night was filled with laughter and joy. It is funny how sometimes we think a bad day means a bad day and bad attitude all day long; however, a simple change of heart and mind can lead to quite an enjoyable day and a lifted spirit.

when all else fails, go to Starbucks and you will get a literally get a taste of home :)