Reason 62

We woke up early this morning to drive from Gyor to Budapest. Today is
our last day in Hungary. As we made the two hour drive between the
towns, I tried to stay awake so I could enjoy the scenery. We passed
many little villages tucked in the country side. From the road, these
villages looked peaceful and quaint. It was quite a beautiful drive!
When we got closer to Budapest, we passed a town that had a few signs
left from the communism era. I began to think about Europe's past. I'm
no history major, but I know that Europe faced a lot of devastation,
loss, fear and ruin. But Europe is still standing. Though the difficult
times lasted for many, many years, they didn't last forever. I'm sure
those who lived through the communism era didn't see an end in sight.
I'm sure those who experienced World War 2 didn't expect to make it
through the war. But both of these things eventually came to an end.
These circumstances had a lasting impact, but as we drove today, I saw
beauty. I didn't notice the bits of leftovers from communism, rather I
noticed beautiful homes, churches, and nature. I noticed what was there
now, not what wasn't there, and I appreciated it. In fact, I think it
was more beautiful to me because I knew of the dark past, yet the
sunlight revealed the land's true beauty. The beauty of survival, the
beauty of rebuilding, the beauty of being strong enough to pick up and
start back over. As I looked out the window, the Lord placed a song in
my heart.

"When peace like a river attendth thy way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever thy lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul"

And today, it was well with my soul...

#62 - because he is always teaching me, and it is well.

"Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes with the morning." 
-Psalm 30:5