A late appointment in Rome led to an unexpected
meeting with a flamboyant opera star now retired. Knowing we would need a light bite, our friend recommended a neighborhood place,
"A wine bar, but they serve food also." The host offered us my favorite - a window
seat! Ed pulled out my chair, gave me the street view, and sat with his back to
the road. Our blue cheese on honey toast
and salmon bilinis arrived, prettily done, and we laughed with joy at the
blessing. Ed waved to someone behind
me. "What's up?" I asked.
He looked down, trying to hide laughter.
"I thought that lady was waving to me, but she was waving out the
window to a friend walking along the sidewalk." Maybe it was jetlag, we became giddy. After
that moment, everything smacked of hilarity - after 42 years of marriage and
friendship, it happens a lot. Ed went to
pay the tab and met "the lady who waved" at the cashier. Ends up, she'd mistaken the person walking by
for a friend, but didn't know them at all.
Ed called me over and introduced me. She had traveled
the world, most known for her role as the princess in Puccini's opera. Her fly away red hair reminded me of colorful
bird plumage, her hands fluttered in midair, her elaborate makeup added the
touch of drama one might expect from an opera star. "I waved to your husband, you know. And he was kind enough to wave
back!" Ed had told her why we were
in Rome and she said, "I'm afraid I've lost my faith."
I replied from my heart, "Well, Jesus hasn't
lost you."
She cocked her head. "Because you said that,
I'll tell you a story." She had a
home outside of Rome where she and her husband could escape the city. Whenever driving there, as the car climbed up
the road, she anticipated the sight of
trees around the bend, golden and glorious.
"Glorious! One day we made
the trip, came around the bend, and the trees... I shouted with shock, 'Oh,
they've destroyed them, burnt them black!' " Vandalism. " I began to cry, my tears
came from a deep place. Then it
happened. I felt as if I was in a vortex
of swirling power all around me."
She fixed her eyes on mine.
"That was God.
And He is still close to you, all around you. You can't feel Him now, but He is right here,
right now, with you wherever you are."
Tears slid down her cheeks.
"Whenever I sang the high notes, I lifted them
to ..." She looked up and pointed as
she opened her mouth and poured out
song - riveting, overwhelming.
And once again, God's intoxicating glory swirled around us.
