save a seat
With my head tilted back, the sun beamed harshly down on my face. My heart shape sunglasses barely seemed to help at all in shielding my eyes from the brightness. Yet I still sat there, leaning back on the palms of my hands, taking in the sunbeams and feeling my skin tingle. It seemed that no matter how much sunscreen I applied, I was roasting. I could see droplets of sweat sitting on the top of my legs, which sent the message to my brain that I needed to intake a lot more water. Grabbing my warmer-than-room temperature water, I unscrewed the cap and gulped down some non-refreshing water. As I set my bottle down next to me, I looked around at all the other people who had gathered in the area. More people had come, all waiting and sitting in the sun. Yet, there were smiles on their faces, joy escaping from their lips and laughter filling the air. We had just finished a week of service and were waiting somewhat patiently for the Pope.
And in that moment, I realized how crazy of a thing it was that I was doing. I had arrived at a soccer stadium over FOUR hours early to sit in the sun and wait for a a holy man to come and speak truth. And I was surrounded by many people I had never talked to before and was sitting with volunteers I had really only interacted with one or two times before. But that is the beauty of the universal church- we know how to love others and be welcoming. We go against what would be considered normal. Rather than sitting on our phones in a crowd of thousands of people who don't all speak the same language, we engage in conversation and laugh together over trying to communicate.
Within those four hours, I had a lot of time to think and talk about all that I had experienced. And in those moments, I felt the most authentic happiness and joy, which didn't really make sense to me. I had a migraine from being sun burnt, not having anything more than a small container of peaches and a couple bottles of water. I should have been angry and agitated and not wanting to be there. But instead, there was no other place I wanted to be. (Okay maybe I would have liked to be in the shade or some air conditioning, but I wanted to be in the presence of those people.)
Sitting there and waiting, I was thankful more than I had ever been for the universal church and how beautiful it is. Every single person there had a story and we were all sharing our stories with each other in those moments, whether it was through words or smiles or laughter. Our stories were being told just in us living our lives in that wonderful adventure we get being in a relationship with Christ. In the simplicity, we were sharing our stories with one another. And Pope Francis challenged us to continue to share our stories and experiences and Christ's love in this way: simply and humbly.
And it is in this simplicity and humility that Christ invites Himself into our lives, which is exactly what He did at World Youth Day for me. In the little moments, the moments when I was most vulnerable and weak He came in. This is why that last day was so profound for me. I was exhausted and sun burnt and hungry and knew that I needed to rely on Him for the strength to even stand up to run to the gates to see Pope Francis drive past.
I was there as His hands and feet, His servant. In my weakness, my littleness, I let Him in. And man, He transformed me those 15 days in Panama. And He still is transforming me, so I keep letting Him in. There was room for Him to sit next to me in Panama and walk with me everyday. And every day since then, I have saved a seat for Him. Here's to living in that wonderful adventure every single day of my life.
And in that moment, I realized how crazy of a thing it was that I was doing. I had arrived at a soccer stadium over FOUR hours early to sit in the sun and wait for a a holy man to come and speak truth. And I was surrounded by many people I had never talked to before and was sitting with volunteers I had really only interacted with one or two times before. But that is the beauty of the universal church- we know how to love others and be welcoming. We go against what would be considered normal. Rather than sitting on our phones in a crowd of thousands of people who don't all speak the same language, we engage in conversation and laugh together over trying to communicate.
Within those four hours, I had a lot of time to think and talk about all that I had experienced. And in those moments, I felt the most authentic happiness and joy, which didn't really make sense to me. I had a migraine from being sun burnt, not having anything more than a small container of peaches and a couple bottles of water. I should have been angry and agitated and not wanting to be there. But instead, there was no other place I wanted to be. (Okay maybe I would have liked to be in the shade or some air conditioning, but I wanted to be in the presence of those people.)
Sitting there and waiting, I was thankful more than I had ever been for the universal church and how beautiful it is. Every single person there had a story and we were all sharing our stories with each other in those moments, whether it was through words or smiles or laughter. Our stories were being told just in us living our lives in that wonderful adventure we get being in a relationship with Christ. In the simplicity, we were sharing our stories with one another. And Pope Francis challenged us to continue to share our stories and experiences and Christ's love in this way: simply and humbly.
And it is in this simplicity and humility that Christ invites Himself into our lives, which is exactly what He did at World Youth Day for me. In the little moments, the moments when I was most vulnerable and weak He came in. This is why that last day was so profound for me. I was exhausted and sun burnt and hungry and knew that I needed to rely on Him for the strength to even stand up to run to the gates to see Pope Francis drive past.
I was there as His hands and feet, His servant. In my weakness, my littleness, I let Him in. And man, He transformed me those 15 days in Panama. And He still is transforming me, so I keep letting Him in. There was room for Him to sit next to me in Panama and walk with me everyday. And every day since then, I have saved a seat for Him. Here's to living in that wonderful adventure every single day of my life.
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