I enjoy traveling and seeing the beauty of God’s creation. It seems that each place on earth has its own beauty and Italy is no exception.
Much of Italy’s beauty is in the country side. Rome’s airport is outside the city and you see hay fields on the train ride into the city. I especially enjoyed the train ride from Rome to Florence because you travel through a lot of farm land. Feed corn, hay, and sunflowers fill the landscape, along with farm equipment and country homes. Like many parts of the USA Italy has beautiful mountain ranges, including the area around Carrara. Passing these mountains on our way to Cinque Terre we noticed what looked like snow on their peaks. We learned that it wasn’t snow we were seeing. It was white marble. Quarries dotted the mountains and the white marble gleamed in the sunlight. Of course the blue water of the Mediterranean Sea on Italy’s west coast was a nice escape the busyness of the city. Most homes, restaurants, and shops in the cities and small towns adorn the street scape and balconies with flowers. Color is everywhere in the summer.
Like every other place on earth Italy has features that are not attractive and places where poverty is obvious. If one wants to focus on the negatives here or anywhere, it is easy to do. But doing so is a sad way to live. Often we more easily see the beauty in new places while missing the beauty that is in front of us every day at home. That also is a sad way to live. There is a lot of beauty in America and in SC. All you have to do is look…
I look forward to returning home later this week and being with you at First Baptist Church Sunday morning. I’ll start a new sermon series titled, “I Like My Church.” There is much “beauty” in our church and we are going to celebrate it. I hope you will be there to celebrate with us and welcome Monieca and me home.
Pastor Steve Hogg
Italy is a field of beautiful Sunflowers
Monieca in a field of flowers in Rome
Monieca on a bridge in Sacile
Small town on coast of the Mediterranean Sea
White marble being quarried from mountains west of Florence
Leave a Reply