A few of my favorite things

The cross standing at the site of church ruins in Purgg-Trautenfels, Austria

This was the view from our hotel. C'mon. That's just ridiculous.

The beautiful town of Purgg, Austria, which kindly opened its doors to us during its Christmas market on Saturday. This is from the grounds of the Johanneskapelle--John's chapel--famous for its well-preserved 12th century frescoes.

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

You knew, of course, that eventually there would be a Sound of Music reference, right? Because I LOVE that musical, and here I am in Austria, where it is set. Eventually, I had to do it. It seemed the right time. We went exploring over Thanksgiving the part of Austria in which the story of The Sound of Music takes place, and where, of course, the von Trapp family actually lived. We were outside of Salzburg about 45 minutes, wandering around the Austrian Alps. Not a bad gig, if you can get it.

Thanksgiving was good. It wasn't traditional, by any means, but it was good. With no cooking to worry about, no preparations to make, I actually found time to be very thankful. I teared up only once, and that was when I was wandering around a Christmas market and stumbled upon a booth of quilts and quilted ornaments, which, of course, made me miss my Momma. I bought one. I bet you guessed that. We came away with an incredible appreciation not just for the gorgeous setting of Austria--honestly, it's beautiful beyond my ability to put it into words--but also for the kindness and warmth of Austrians. Now, if Austria is the only place you've ever been, I'm betting they don't seem very warm and welcoming. But to those of us who have lived other places, they seem like they're practically throwing us a parade. There are times and incidents where I have thought, "Wow...that was rude," but generally, taken as a whole, Austrians are pretty wonderful.

It would be hard to pinpoint what my favorite part of the trip was. Of course, I loved the time with my boys, a little foretaste of what's coming in the not-too-distant future, when both Hannah and Sarah Beth are gone, living their own lives, and it'll just be me and the boys at home. John is genuinely interested and curious about the world, and he was fun to take places to explore. He also was flexible and spontaneous, something he definitely gets from his Daddy. :) I loved exploring a glacier with him, riding a cable car up a mountain, visiting a town nestled in the mountains for a Christmas market, visiting a castle...all were wonderful. But if I had to pinpoint my favorite moments of the trip, it would have to be the church.

We were at a castle, walking around, when we saw a small, brown sign. Brown signs in Europe mean really interesting stuff to see and learn about, so we decided to take a look. Over a sketchy-looking bridge and up a one-way road were church ruins from the 1530s. It was an evangelical church, one of the seven in the district, which covered a good section of Austria. The foundation is still standing, and you can see and imagine what was there, where the altar was, etc. But my favorite part was the "Bibel Wanderweg." You can only approach the ruins on foot, and on the path are signs...sort of like the stations of the cross in a Catholic church. They are verses of Scripture meant to make the reader reflect on the journey of faith. And though we certainly don't speak German fluently or even passably, it's amazingly easy to read. With just a rudimentary knowledge, you can definitely make out words and context helps with what you can't figure out on your own. So up we went, reflecting on what we read--all well-known verses. But the station right before we reached the ruins was, to me, one of those moments that I will likely never forget. For there, standing in the unimaginable beauty of the Austrian Alps, surrounded by silence and the memory of other, long-ago worshipers, I read the words that began this blog--I will lift my eyes to the hills, from whence cometh my help. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. Yep, standing there, gazing at the mountains, I found some of my favorite words in all the Bible. In a land that is not my own, in a time that I would have given my left arm to be with my whole family, in a place I didn't even plan on visiting, God left for me a little stone of remembrance. It isn't the beauty or the oddity of finding that verse or those ruins that so touched my heart. It was His utter and complete faithfulness to me. The hills were there long before I even knew where Austria was on a map. They will be there long after I am a mere memory. But God, the maker of heaven and earth, is forever. No matter where I am, He is already there. No matter what my situation, He already knows the outcome. There is nowhere I can go that is out of His reach, no matter how remote. Whether I'm in Middleburg, Florida, preparing Thanksgiving dinner for my family or high in the Austrian Alps looking at church ruins, He is my constant companion. This journey, this adventure that we've been allowed to be a part of is sometimes lots of fun and sometimes really awful. But the One who called us to it is always the same--faithful, compassionate, merciful, loving.

It was a good trip. I'm glad we went, and I'm betting we'll return eventually. But it was also good to come home to Vienna, to our cozy apartment, to the neighborhood we love. That, too, is one of my favorite things. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are celebrating all the ways God makes Himself known to you, and that the sun is rising in particularly glorious fashion where you are, too. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye