thunder, lightning, europeans -- oh my!

It's fixing to storm in Montebelluna & I'll have you all know, I am feeling much much better. Thank you for the prayers and love, it was a wonderful morale booster. I have a bit of a cough lingering but the other symptoms have left me {thank goodness!}.
Let's get back to the good stuff -- the weather! It was a bit warmer today than the other days this week, so much so that a light sweater was even nearing a bit much at the warmest time of day. The Italians wear their big winter coats all year long so I get the funniest looks when I go out in my spring clothing - but hey, if it's warm enough I don't plan on burning to death in a heavy jacket. I took a walk to the "milkeria" today with a few of the Browns. The clouds were a mixture of white and gray, puffy and wispy, ominous and cheery. A couple of blue spots dared peek through and give us a glimpse of the sky beyond the cloud layer. It started to lightly sprinkle as I dropped the kids back off at their house and took my milk home. I had some homework to do, so I headed back into town to be "studious" at Café Corona {a little coffee shop owned by a kind gentleman that attends the church}. I was listening to the song "Dancing in the Moonlight" off of the "A Walk to Remember" soundtrack as the sky seemed to burst open out of nowhere. You may be able to imagine my delight. The rain cleared as I finished up my homework, which was quite a blessing because my walk home would have been very long & very very wet otherwise... especially for my computer, it's not exactly -- how you say -- water proof.
Oh my goodness, how I wish you all could have been on my walk home with me! It was glorious. Truly glorious. I talked with the Lord as I walked and I asked repeatedly that He would hold back the rain just until I made it to the safety of the apartment. He kept bringing to my mind the verse in Psalms that says "For You, oh Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as a shield." I began to understand more fully that I am His child; even in the things that I deem petty or unimportant, He cares deeply. He is concerned with the simplest of my worries and requests. Just as my daddy would do anything to get me home dry & happy, even so my Father held back the rain and gave me a marvelous view.
The skyline was gorgeous. I had a huge gray cloud looming over my head the whole way; to my right & to my left were blue patches and layers of differently colored and shaped clouds. Montebelluna seems to grow even lovelier with a new background -- the Italian sky creates an incredible atmosphere. I was trying really hard the whole way home to keep my giddiness from showing in my expression -- I don't want the straight-faced Europeans thinking I'm insane, you know.
I almost forgot! The sky flashed with lightning five times during the fifteen minute walk. I couldn't help but grin from the adventure of it all as the thunder rolled through. It was much fun, much much fun. I realized in a moment how alone I am -- I am in a foreign country where I know virtually no one, the only people I do know I have known for less than a month, I hardly speak the language of the country I  am living in, I have never seen 95% of the people I pass while walking through the streets -- but I realized even more how present the Lord is. And how thrilling this time of my life is. It is unreal that the Lord would call me, only seventeen years young, the baby of the family to partake in this experience. When I say that I realized how alone I am, I am not implying loneliness, for I certainly do not feel lonely. I do feel, however, that this time of being independent is allowing me the chance I have always wanted and never been afforded -- a chance to see the Lord mature me and grow me into a woman.
To bring this unintentionally long story to a close, it started pouring down rain shortly after I got home and it has been in the early stages of a thunderstorm ever since. We are having a movie night tonight, complete with the works: popcorn, chocolate, cookies, chips, and Pride & Prejudice with Italian subtitles. It should be the perfect amount of crazy.

We'll be chatting again soon!
Em