Segovia and the Beauty of Reconciliation

Guys, it’s 10:15 at night, all Saints Day, and I’m just beginning this post. Arghh.

I’ve made a commitment to posting on Fridays and darn it, I’m going to keep it — though I can’t guarantee this post will make any sense, because this girl is tired. TIRED.

So what to write about? Hmm, how about the time we went to Segovia, Spain.

It’s a rainy Fall day, so it seems a perfect time to reminisce about a place that was hot and arid and so different than the place I call home.

Let me give you a little glimpse of a summer night in Segovia to get you in the mood for the story I’m about to tell.

It’s a story of a family that had barely survived their pilgrimage to Spain and Portugal — barely. But through it all, they somehow managed to grow closer to God and closer to each other.

Perhaps this little glimpse, will set the mood perfectly for the story I am about to tell.

This music and this moment says a lot about our pilgrimage experience.

We had braved heat and exhaustion and crowds. We had experienced the beauty of other people and of our faith in dramatic ways.

We even escaped a terrorist attack in Barcelona — yep, we had been through some life since we had stepped foot in Spain almost two weeks before this video.

We had experienced a lot of laughter, some tears(mostly the 2year old) good food, beautiful churches, and all the highs and lows that come with traveling as a family on pilgrimage.

As we jumped on a plane from Lisbon, we were looking forward to our last stop before home: Segovia, Spain.

In many ways, we were ready to go home.

We were ready to sleep in our own beds and to eat our own food, but with less than 36 hours in Segovia, we were determined to make the most of it — and I have to say that we really did make the most of it.

Segovia is a city built on a hill. It is a historically interesting city, and a short train ride from Madrid, so it was a great place to end our trip.

*The famous Roman Aqueduct — a state of Mary in the alcove up top.*

We found a cheap hotel all the way at the top of the town, in the Plaza Mayor. It was the perfect choice.

It was a simple hotel with windows overlooking the plaza and the beautiful Segovia, Cathedral.

*Our place wasn’t fancy, but it looked out over the cute and bustling Plaza Mayor.*

*This cathedral glowed as the sun began to set on the city.*

If you are ever in Segovia, just walk the streets and enjoy the laid back feel of the city.

I also recommend you visit the Alcazar.

We all enjoyed visiting it and learning a little about life in a castle.

This castle also happened to serve as inspiration for Walt Disney’s Cinderella’s castle and for the Disney theme parks as well.

*You can see the resemblance to the Disney castle, can’t you?*

*Just to give you a feel for the details inside — this was a glimpse at the ceiling.*

For a family like ours, I definitely recommend renting the audio guides for the museum. That extra bit of knowledge adds so much to your appreciation for a place.

It’s a low pressure way to get a tour at your own pace — which is pretty ideal when you’re running after a toddler.

The inner courtyard and rooftop gardens were just a pleasant place to enjoy the outdoors and some lovely views.

*The greenery trained up the walls was so lovely.*

But the real reason why we came to Segovia was because of two very special people: St. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila.

St. John of the Cross is buried in Segovia and St. Teresa spent a considerable amount of time here as well.

These two are yet another example of Saints who were friends with other Saints — and we’re not talking Facebook friends — no, we’re talking about the praying for each other and suffering for each other and encouraging each other type of friends.

Just goes to show you that good friendships matter.

*Convent of San Jose (St. Joseph) established on the feast of St. Joseph by Teresa of Avila in 1574.*

I have said this before, but there is something about a Saint that seems to sanctify the streets and places they live and spend time in.

They just seem to have given their lives over to Christ to such a degree that they bring His presence and peace with them, wherever they go.

As you take the short walk to the the convent of the discalced Carmelites outside the city walls, you will most definitely feel that peaceful presence.

*It’s a lovely little walk to the tomb of St. John in the convent of the discalced Carmelites.*

*It’s possible this is part of the old camino pilgrim path, as the shell is a well-known symbol for it.*

For me, it is one of the reasons why I want my children to experience these places where Saints have walked.

It is almost inevitable that as you walk the path the Saints walked, you will eventually find yourself face to face with Jesus.

I want them to have that experience of feeling weary with travel and walking into a church and kneeling before the tabernacle and knowing that they are home.

I want them to learn to bring all their burdens to Jesus and to lay their burdens at His feet — knowing He’ll either take them away, or He’ll help to carry them.

Traveling brings that message to life and it’s one of the reasons why John and I are crazy enough to travel to far off places with our kids.

*Took some time to pray and think on these quotes while we were there.*

Lest you think we just float around with deep and loving thoughts all the time, I must admit that John and I and the kids had a rather heated argument in the streets of Segovia — you would swear we were Italian with all our yelling and dramatic throwing up of hands in the air.

It’s somewhat ironic, because the last place we had such a dramatic argument was in Disneyland. Must be something about that castle.

In fact, our Disneyland fight was so dramatic that a crowd of people actually gathered around us because they thought we were street performers.

Perhaps John’s, “Ladies and Gentleman my wife is angry at me” might have been part of their confusion. True story.

The point is that sometimes families fight, and that’s okay. The key is to make sure you reconcile after you have cooled off.

John is a great example of this for our family. He has taught me a lot.

Back to Segovia, we walked down to that convent a wee bit crabby with each other — but 15 minutes of prayerful silence, sitting before the tomb of John of the Cross, and I can honestly say our bad attitudes were entirely changed.

Apologies were made and we definitely left our anger and resentment back at the tabernacle by the tomb of St. John of the Cross.

*Peace seems to descend upon a soul who takes time to pray here.*

The whole city seemed to glow as the sun set on Segovia that day — or maybe it was the glow of a good reconciliation 🙂

As they say, all’s well that ends well. We went on to have one of the nicest nights of our trip.

It just goes to show you that reconciliation can do far more than just repairing a relationship — it can actually make it stronger than before.

Dinner was full good food and wine, great music and lots of laughter. It was the perfect way to end our trip and reminisce about all the adventures of our epic family pilgrimage of 2017.

It was a time for John and I to look around that table and realize how incredibly blessed we were to have these amazing kids and to have each other.

The truth is, sometimes we forget what a blessing our family is to us — but this was not one of those times.

*Roasted, suckling pig is one of their specialties.*

I hope our kids remember that day.

I hope they remember it started with a pretty dramatic fight, but ended with John and I fully reconciled.

Believe me, if we can do it, so can you.

In fact, we were so taken in by the music and the moonlight and the friendliness of the Spanish families around us, that John and I found ourselves dancing together under the moonlight, with our kids watching on.

Strangely, they didn’t seem a bit embarrassed by it.