Finding Comforts
What does a vigil lamp, icons, incense burner, Bible, 2 tie-dyed t-shirts and Starbucks coffee beans have in common? They are a few comforts we either brought with us or happily discovered once we got here.
Having a few things that bring you comfort helps emotionally and psychologically during big transitions. Moving across the world is definitely a big transition. And we made sure we planned for it.
We are Greek Orthodox, so our vigil lamp came with us. “What is a vigil lamp” you ask? A vigil lamp represents the light of Christ. We light it every morning and it burns throughout our day.
“And what are icons?” Icons are hand painted pictures of Christ, the “Theotokos” aka Mother of God or God bearer, and Saints that have gone before us. They give us a glimpse into heaven.
We were intentional about finding a local craftsman to purchase our travel icon pieces from and for a very specific reason. While the artisan is painting, they are also praying. The artist puts his whole heart into each one he makes, thus each is unique. This was very important to us.
We also brought our incense burner. It is special to our prayer times and uses specific types of incense. Definitely not the stuff from the quick stop on the corner in America. And we brought our Bibles.
Comforts of Faith
Why the 2 tie-dyed t-shirts? Two reasons; 1) We wore them to the Grateful Dead tribute band concert in Rome(ahhh…Rome, it gets its own special story) and 2) our son Ian made them for Christmas presents last year. Something handmade from one of our kids helps them all feel close to our hearts. We wear them often and are truly grateful to have them. Thanks Ian!
Grateful Dead Tribute Band Concert-Rome
Now, the Starbucks coffee beans just happen to be a surprising bonus. As I mentioned before, we were really struggling with the coffee here. We really did try hard to like it. We were even just drinking espresso shots to get by. But on our first extended weekend exploring Corfu, Greece, we discovered a real life Starbucks coffee shop. HEAVEN! That particular shop had a travel-sized Starbucks French Press too. SCORE!!! Now we could brew our own wherever we go. So, we loaded up on a few pounds of ground coffee beans to bring back with us to our apartment in Sarande.
And voila! There ya go! Our faith, family, and coffee…comforts for our souls.
What “comforts” bring you peace and connection? Which ones would be “must haves” for your soul? Feel free to share in the comments if you like. I would love to know more about you.
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