The other night I dreamed I was back in Italy, walking around "il mercato" (the market) downtown Florence. In this dream I found myself back at "Il Duomo," which is pictured above, and is nearby the apartment I lived in for almost two years. In my dream, I started crying because I had missed it so much.It has been about seven years since I left Florence. Unfortunately I have never had the money to go back and visit all the dear friends I made there, who are still lodged permanently in my heart. Today I am feeling really nostalgic for this beautiful city, for it's unique and warm people, and the excitement each day held there as a person waiting on God to move in the hearts of the people we met. Looking back at the person I was back then, I can clearly see all that God has brought me through and how that has made me who I am today. I am different now, in so many ways, because of Florence. I wouldn't change a thing, although it was one of the hardest and most trying times emotionally I have ever had in my life. Florence will always have a special place in my soul, because it is the place God broke my heart wide open and then began His process of (after I left, and is still now), slowly yet gently healing me.
