December in Barcelona Or: I'm Glad I Listened to Mom

It all started when I was 3. I discovered pretend food, tiny plastic dishes, a little iron that actually heated up, and baby dolls. Right then I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt I wanted to be a wife and mommy, and that's all I wanted.
That was the supreme goal in my little life. It didn't change as I grew into a young girl, and then an early teen. By the time I was 12 I had several checks against those goals ever becoming a reality.
1. I was not exactly skinny-boys only looked at me to tease me about my not-so-skinny state.
2. My parents were divorced-I had all kinds of emotional baggage from that. For one thing, I was afraid of ending up like they were someday. Hence, I thought, no way. I'm not even going to get married!
3. I can't think of anymore right now so I'll just get on with the story.

As I grew older, I would often whine, "Mom, why don't boys pay attention to me? I want to get married. I want to be a mom...." etc. etc. (Even though the thought of "divorce" terrified me.)
My mom's best advice came from those whiny moments. She just kept saying,"Judy, you're going to be married for a long time. And once you have kids, your life will change forever. Enjoy being young and single. Travel. Try new things! Meet people and make friends with all of them! You'll be tied down to a house, bills, responsibilities for the rest of your life. Just enjoy everything you can before you get married."

Well, for some strange reason I actually listened to my mother. (That didn't happen often) and a year after I graduated from high school I found myself on a mission trip with YWAM. There I was, 19 years old, temporarily living in a campground on the Mediterranean Sea just outside Barcelona, Spain. It was December and cold.

The bathrooms were large and had many sinks, toilets, and showers. The only problem was that the walls of the bathroom building did not go all the way up to the ceiling. Do you know what that means? You were basically showering outside in temperatures that averaged in the 30's. We had to wash our clothes outside in large mudroom-type sinks. The temperature averaged in the 30's.

While we were there, one of the girls wanted to be water baptized in the campground swimming pool. Ice had to be chipped off the pool before she could get in it to be dunked.

There were 7 of us girls literally stuffed into 1 camper. One poor girl even had to sleep on the floor of our cramped camper.

There was no central meeting room so anytime we had a worship service or even a meal, we met or ate outside, standing up. The temperatures averaged in the 30's.

Nearly every morning I would head to the beach to watch the sunrise. I'd stand there, in the sand, all alone except for Jesus. I was alone because no one else wanted to be on a beach when the temperatures averaged in the 30's. Just as the sun was peeking over the edge of the water I'd close my eyes and sing. I had never been happier.
There I was, alone with Jesus, having the adventure of my life. Seeing new things, exploring the world, making new friends, and learning more and more about the One who was and is my best friend. Worship just came naturally from a full and overflowing heart.

Sometimes as I stood there singing my heart out, I would suddenly be distracted by a strange and unpleasant odor. The Barcelona sewage system was located right outside the campground. When the wind was blowing in the direction of the campground, well, you can imagine. Yuck. Sometimes I was able to ignore it and go on singing. If that happened, something else would come along as a distraction. Right beyond the Barcelona sewage system was the Barcelona airport. Vroooooommms! from planes either taking off or landing would be sure to drown out any singing the stink hadn't managed to choke off.

I had a friend on our mission team I adored. Barry. He was from England. We hit it off and laughed for 4 months. (Our mission team had been in England for a 3 month training period before we went on the mission trip to Spain.) No romance, just a wonderful friendship. Sometimes we could hardly walk because we'd be laughing so hard.

There were YWAM teams from other countries staying at the campground while we were there. One of them was from Sweden. One morning, in the pre-dawn darkness we were all awakened by the sound of singing. Lovely singing. Sweet voices singing beautiful Swedish Christmas carols. As we all stumbled out of our little campers we saw something that I personally will never forget. The girls from the Swedish YWAM team were drifting through the campground singing. They were all dressed in white robes with shimmering red sashes tied around their waists. In their soft golden hair they wore Evergreen wreaths surrounded with lit candles. This was their Christmas gift to anyone who happened to be there that dark, December morning.

I've been doing this wifey, mommy thing for 23 years now. I've not had the chance to see too many exciting places since I said, "I do." The Lord has given me the desire of my heart and blessed me with a wonderful husband and 4 amazing sons. He's also blessed me with sweet and funny memories from a lifetime ago.
My mom was right. I've been blessed twice over. Two rich, full lives. I'm glad I listened to her.