The Grand Tour
First of all I would like to apologize for not putting up any entries for such a long time. The reasoning is because the power has been down for the whole week. I am currently at 47 entries and I have set 50 as my goal. I leave Delhi on Friday and am heading for the mountains, I hope to have another entry up before then. So here’s the blog!
On September 5, Heather was hit with an awful tragedy. There is no way to lessen the blow so I will just spit it out. Her much loved fiancee Aaron, was sadly killed in a car crash. Heather has taken a journey here to India to complete some of the task Aaron dreamed of doing throughout his lifetime. I have been so lucky to have met her and I cannot express how Happy I am that she decided to come to India when she did. She has kept a blog about her journey of healing and has asked me to write an entry for it. So for this entry I would just like to submit what I put up for her blog and ask you all to pray for her and his family. She is such a strong amazing women so also smile because she is using this tragedy to do amazing things here in India. I hope you enjoy.
I watched the sunrise through the window of an Indian train. The light shined through the cracked glass hitting her hair with the effect of mixing paint. The yellow sun smoothly merged into her golden hair as the train cruised across the various landscapes of the country the two of us have called home for the last three months. I smiled and grabbed my camera in an effort to capture the beauty. I knew Heather was ready to go home, but oh how well she fit the scene.
Of course only Heather can say the real reason she traveled to India, but I have my thoughts. Seeing the tragedy that has happened to such a sweet girl and her loving family just leaves your mind numb. Your heart still beats, but it just seems to fail to connect to the reality that has consumed your thoughts.
Heather first approached me in the Chicago International Airport. She greeted me with a warm smile and a friendly hello. We shared storied and I quickly got excited about my coming months with this interesting girl. Obviously the details of the reason of her uncommon journey didn’t instantly come out, but as weeks went on I slowly was allowed into more and more of her life.
The break from the stresses of life along with a chance to get out seemed like the perfect prescription for a broken heart, but as we both experience the many shocks of this massive country together I couldn’t help but worry about how her healing process was going. Being surrounded by death and extreme poverty so far from home, now didn’t feel like the way out.
Maybe Heather doesn’t want a way out, but I really doubt that. I think she come here partially as a goodbye gift for her love, who had dreams of what she has made a reality; but also partially to attempt to figure out something that people at her age don’t normally have to deal with.
Looking at Heather I like to think she has grown. She often expresses how excited she is to return to her family, but I know she will miss her Indian life and I know I will miss the huge role she has played in mine.
So, In a week Heather will be back at home in the comforting arms of the ones who love her, but something will be different, her world will be bigger and her understanding of the confusion of life/death will be part of a much larger field. She will fly from one half of this world to the next, she will have seen different cultures and lives, but most importantly she will have seen the many lands and people that God created and watches over. Heather has seen more of what has been created to live on during this life. These are some of the things Aaron never got to fully experience, until now. Through the tragedy a smile can be seen rippling across the faces as if one has just gained understanding to a little part of life, like it was a riddle that has been racking their brain for quite some time. In a way, Aaron is the lucky one. I know he is following Heather step-by-step pushing her and being proud that she has endured on such an adventure, while at the same time he is looking down on God’s grand creation with the creator himself. I personally can’t think of a better way to experience India. It truly is the Grand tour.
