in the cellar of the monastery, there was this huge winepress, it filled the space of the cellar from floor to ceiling. i had never seen a winepress before, but as we stood beside it -- the looming strength and the precise engineering of this beautiful tool brought paul's words to mind -- seeking to be broken bread and poured out wine for the Lord.

i forgot all about that moment in the st. lawrence monastery until this morning when i was reading oswald chambers and he said:

This call [Colossians 1:24] has nothing to do with personal sanctification, but with being made broken bread and poured-out wine. God can never make us wine if we object to the fingers He uses to crush us with...if ever we are going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed; you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.

i often object to the very hands in my life that God is probably using to crush -- to create something outside of myself. this image of the winepress has become very important to me as i look over the events of the last few weeks...and the journey that lies ahead. i know there is the potential for the uncertain events of my future to be used for the extraction of His sweet goodness planted within -- that it would be useful to more than just myself.

my prayer: help me Lord.

i have just embarked on one of the most daunting and yet incredible tasks of my small life thus far. i am happy beyond reason, but also incredibly frightened by its enormity...knowing i will only be able to take it one single step at a time (just as the rest of my life, but for some reason it seems, that under pressure, our steps become so much more deliberate).

while in the north, we visited a beautiful monastery near sassano that was dedicated to st. lawerence. when the monastery was constructed, it was the largest in italy and to this day remains in the top five. although it has been ‘desanctified’ and is now open to the public, it maintains a very serene, peaceful disposition and is filled with the mysterious beauty of knowing Christ in the silence… the words of edward schillebeeckx were quite timely in my devotion that morning:

‘failure to recognize the value of mere being with God, as the beloved, without doing anything, is to gouge the heart out of Christianity.’

we also met up with a local researcher whose passion is orchids, but has done extensive work identifying and cataloguing local plants. he also has created two museums displaying much of his work – one a living seed persevere and the other a beautiful medival medical museum. he is an extremely passionate, jolly man who has an incredibly tenacious goal to preserve and promote local medicinal herbs – I am learning so much! not just dozens of new herbs, but a way of being… I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to meet such inspiring individuals.

well, before this turns into a book, a few my personal favs thus far:

Rosa canina (wild rose = lots of vit c!!!)










Eryngeum (sea holly)












Daucus carota (queen anne’s lace/wild carrot – so tasty!)

un vero viaggio di scoperta non e cercare nuove terre, ma avere nuovi occhi.

(the true voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands, but in seeing with new eyes.) -marcel proust

wish i had time for more stories...we've been visiting a lot of herbs and flowers and vegetables. took a bicycling tour of the tuscan countryside where we found lots of burock, gallium, nettles, willow, yellow dock, mugwort, asparagus, tobacco...lots more! it is so beautiful.

sansepolcro

a few pics so far...





in just a few short days we have watched the palio della balera -- sort of like a renessaince fest...excpet for the fact that we are in the seat of western civ!!! eaten soooo much pasta. visited an heb farm, an history museum featuring the development of herbal medicine in the area, hopped a train to a place called perugia (known as the sister city of seattle!), wandered in an old medivel garden, spent long hours sipping tasty italia wine while soaking up the beautiful tuscan countryside...and so much more! italy is incredible!
we got to visit an antique collection of original herbal medicine texts... even got to see one of the original cullpepper texts! (the guy who first translated medical info into english for the general population to understand) we hiked around a farm just outside of sansepolcro for an herb company called aboca. they have only a very small market in the u.s. -- but their state-side hq is in none other than the republica of boulder! kewl. we also toured this old garden and i sat under a beautifully peacful locust tree that had been grown to create a beautiful meditation spot: much like the catholic monks sought out in the forests. our instructor explained that the forest in medivel times was considered dark and dangerous...most locals rarely ventured into the tangles of the curious woods, but the monks were drawn to its serenity and were known for their odd acceptance of that unusal terrain. i wonder how often my own fears of the unknown keep me from the greatest adventures. while resting beside a towering albero della gloria tree, i began to want to loosen my grip a bit...

let me not be afraid for adventure, let me not be afraid for the journey. the story is my thirst but my fears are the tightened lips. my soul is cracked and dry for lack of saving water -- the water are the steps i am hungering to take. like a tree planted by streams of water...my hope. is in You -- oh Rock, oh salvation.

it is a lovely journey.