Today’s author is Prince of Peace member, Karen Carr.

The language of faith and renewal nurtures my heart. I can call on the spiritual energy from my faith in Jesus Christ and for this I’m grateful always.

Last winter I joked with my granddaughter, Tiffany, a college freshman, that if she were to study abroad I might have to visit her and travel with her. Her Dad, she and I all laughed. We were hanging out in the kitchen after a refreshing hike near Minnehaha creek. Tiffany had taken up Spanish partly, she told me, because I had mentioned many times my regret at not majoring in Spanish in college myself.

Fast forward a few months and I received a text: Grammy, were you serious about traveling with me in Spain this summer? Yes I was. I immediately signed on for a travel adventure with my granddaughter. I would fly to Madrid at the end of July when her class was completed. It is impossible to say how deeply meaningful this trip was for me. 

From our early morning meeting in the Madrid airport when I was able to meet two of her classmates from the University of Duluth who had also studied in Salamanca, to a couple months after our return and getting Tiffany’s text saying she was wearing her turquoise ring [matching mine – that we’d bought at a small shop on the Mediterranean coast] for good luck on her upcoming exam, it was a terrific experience. We had our moments, of course. The temperature in Spain during our 12 day trip was 100 degrees each day. Tiffany loves to exercise and eat. These things meshed perfectly for our time together. Swimming, walking and dining on lots of delicious, fresh, seafood. What I was amazed by, though, was her fluency with the Spanish language. It was so much fun witnessing her talking with the locals, receiving compliments from them on her language skills.

I fell in love with Spain and would love to return someday. Though I like summer weather, I would not want to return in the summer months again – too hot! I also know that much of my happiness came from seeing the glint in Tiffany’s eyes as she spoke with the shopkeepers in their native tongue. This trip could not be replicated. But the adventure of seeing art, gardens, and architecture that was century’s old builds upon my appreciation for God’s gifts to us, the planets and stars. And family.

Tiffany is not a churchgoer. But she knows that I am, and is a respectful listeåner. When she was younger, she experienced some of the joys from our church community over the years herself when I brought her and her brother to Spooky Music and family church camp. At the start of our time together in Spain I took the opportunity to share a bit about how my faith sustains me. Her first year at school, away from home, was somewhat of a roller coaster of emotions for her and she was feeling a little homesick just being in Spain for several weeks already, away from family and friends. Here we were traveling Europe and she was holding a bit of a grudge about things that were out of her control. I told to her about the importance for me of the serenity prayer and that Pastor Peter had mentioned it’s beginnings in a sermon a few months ago. How vital it is – for me personally – to know that God is here for me. That God is here for each one of us. I just need to keep asking and listening. 

Now it is thanksgiving time and reflecting on the gifts of this year, even or especially in the midst of political struggles around the world and here in the United States, knowing that my relationship with God is primary, and can carry over to my relationships with my grandchildren, continues to nurture me. 

Jeremiah 33:3 – Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.