Chaos, Love, and the City

I have often heard it said that fasting brings out the worst in people.

I live in a city where often the summertime feels like an exercise in fasting from normality.

As our own banal streets morph into something resembling Pamplona's "running of the bulls" (only with angry, selfie-stick-wielding tourists instead of angry, horn-wielding bulls) peace and solace become harder to find.

In light of this, today I took a wandering lunch break in search of this elusive commodity, and ended up in the Saint Mary Magdelene Catholic church, just outside of the city epicentre.

As I sat in the back pew - alone save for my sushi and thoughts - I noticed the musty smell, reverent peace, and the quiet holiness of the place. There was a holy stillness that while the physical structure decayed and died around it, retained timelessness. A beautiful yet intangible reflection of the God who is the same yesterday, today, and always (Hebrews 13:8) and whom no physical structure can contain.

I was heartened by many things about this encounter - 
- that amidst the white noise, the church was a place of peace
- that amidst chaotic lives, the physical building still inspired awe, reverence, and moments of reflection
- that amidst the urban chaos and the risk of vandalism of sacrilegiousness, the church was open 

At a time when many of my friends are becoming young and beautiful earthly brides; I am heartened and so deeply thankful to be a part of this musty timeless bride. She - both her physical structures and her spiritual body- is the most fully alive and beautiful bride in the world.