As we started to make our plans to cross the Cook Strait last week, it became clear that given Easter weekend, it was going to be a challenge. We committed to the couple we were house-sitting for in Nelson, New Zealand that we would arrive on a certain date and all the ferries were booked. We panicked, worried, stressed, and fretted and then came across this headline, “100 Years After Construction Commenced, The Finish Line Is in Sight for the Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona.”
This news story stopped us in our tracks. We so clearly remembered standing in the shadows of this remarkable work in progress, during Holy Week, just two years ago. We sat a good distance from the cathedral, in order to attempt to take it all in, away from the swarms of tourists clamoring for entrance. We talked about how far we had come and wondered where this journey would take us. We spoke of reverence for any visionary that could start something that he or she would likely never see finished. We talked about how many hands had touched this project and how many times it felt impossible and yet a path revealed itself. This conversation came flooding back to us after we caught the headline while wading through the crowds at the Cook Strait ferry ticketing office.
Suddenly, we shifted from resistance and stress to overwhelming gratitude for where we were standing and every step we have taken since that day in Barcelona, to get to this vantage point, between islands, in New Zealand.
Lessons in patience are always there when we are ready to revisit them. We looked at each other and simultaneously walked away from the crowded office trusting that if it was meant to be, a path would reveal itself.
Within 24 hours, we were booked on a freighter, car and all, that would deliver us to the South Island of New Zealand with time to spare. This is an option we most certainly never considered before we walked away from the chaos. We learned, once again, that it was okay to ask for help and not limit ourselves to the possibilities by forcing timelines, finish lines and ferry lines!
Sagrada Familia was the vision of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi who, when questioned about the time it was taking to build such a marvel, would calmly reply, “My client is not in a hurry.” He was, of course, referring to God. Thankfully, it did not take us 100 years to cross the Cook Strait, but without paying attention to lessons that surround us, I have no doubt we would still be in that line.
Tweetable: Lessons in patience are always there when we are ready to revisit them.
