Where God guides, God provides…

Have you heard that saying before?

It’s something I’ve heard in regards to church planting over the years, but I also think it applies to our lives, as we go forward in making decisions and living our lives for Christ.

I believe our Creator not only guides and provides, but is also sovereign over every part of our lives, and that is a “blessed assurance” that provides comfort and peace in the unknowns of life! Yes & Amen.

So let me encourage you this Monday morning, as I share a little about why we went to Italy last week and how it came about.

A couple weeks ago I got a message from someone in Bellagio that I’ve known for many years… almost from the very start of my retreats in fact. Now, there’s part of this story that I’d love to keep a secret for those who haven’t been to my retreats, but for the sake of sharing what God is doing, I will have to tell part of it here.

PLEASE NOTE: If you want to be surprised , then don’t go any further in this post!

That message I got was asking us to come be a part of the towns 60th anniversary celebration for their choir. Why a choir you ask, and what does it have to do with my retreats? Well, there’s so much to this story… but this choir is called the “Corale Bilacus” Choir and it’s something this beautiful village of Bellagio has cultivated, generation by generation, for the people to come together and celebrate the culture and history of Italy. We have enjoyed hearing this choir for over 10 years now, and I have to say I don’t know many other places in the world where the men (yes it’s a men’s only choir) have a place to gather and sing their traditional songs, share life together on a weekly basis and bless others with their gift of music. Oh, it’s so much more than songs…(and if you’ve been with us to Bellagio, you know…) it’s a life lived in community. One that supports and encourages each other in all the ups and downs of life, connects one generation to the next, and gathers together to learn from each other.

If you know me and my heart for the retreats I host each year, then you know I am ALL about that!

So YES, we felt we were meant to be at this celebration, and it became evident that the Lord allowed it to happen.

I told Graziano I would talk to Lance about it, pray about it and then let him know soon. I really wasn’t sure this last minute trip would fit into our busy schedule (and budget) but we prayed about it, looked at flights and figured out who could go… in under 36 hours! The blessings in all of that was that even though Lance couldn’t join me, Rebecca was able to work her schedule around to come, I found enough miles on a credit card I don’t use very often to get my ticket for free, and one of the apartments we use in Bellagio had an apartment available (on such late notice that’s highly unusual) AND she gave us a really sweet discount on it too!

God truly provided for this trip in so many ways, and that saying I started this post with came rushing to my mind before we even left. Even thought there we many details (shall I even say trials?) we needed to push past in order to get on that airplane, we both knew the Lord was telling us to go…

So a little over a week later, all packed and ready for our adventure, we arrived in Bellagio excited to see what God was going to do!

The first day we got into Bellagio around noon and our apartment was already available for us (thank you Daniela!) so we sat down our luggage and headed out to see what was open for lunch. We thought we’d try for some pizza… of course…and sure enough, Antico Pozzo was open for lunch and our friends were all surprised to see us! (They also own Baba Yaga, for those who have been to Bellagio with us) So pizza was our first plan of action, and the second was…

SLEEP! I think I fell asleep before 5:30pm that night!

Friday & Saturday were filled with friends. We started with…. non other than Bar Sport (if you come with me to Bellagio, you will undoubtedly have coffee with us there too) and we spent the days catching up with friends, seeing new places with friends, having breakfast, lunch and dinner… with friends. I still can’t believe a little town in Italy is a place the Lord has given us such incredible relationships with so many people. I am in awe of God every time I think about it!

The second night was spent at our friends’ home, and we were there until 2:30am! The night before I was asleep before 6pm and the next night I wasn’t in bed until 3:30am? True story! But when you have the chance to have a home cooked meal in Italy, catch up on life and have deep conversations about life, faith and family… it’s an absolute JOY. (And you know it’s the Lord when you’re not the least bit tired throughout the whole night!) All I I can say about this night was that my sweet Rebecca has a gift to share the love of Christ with others, and I was in tears b/c of answered prayers that she would also see why God was calling her to come with me on this trip. Friends, He is so faithful!

So when Sunday came around, we were excited for the day with Corale Bilacus, the choir we had come for.

It was a wet and rainy day, but the celebration started in the church in San Giovanni, a little outside the center of Bellagio, so our friend picked us up so we wouldn’t have to walk. The choir sang in the church service and were also honored during the service as well. Of course it was in Italian (and I’m definitely not proficient in Italian like my daughters are) but it was so beautiful to hear them sing in the church, and sweet to have so many of the members of the choir come up to us afterwards and thank us for being there. The celebration continued up in the mountains above Bellagio (a completely different Bellagio we hadn’t experienced before) and it included hundreds of locals, family members of the choir, and the town mayor and head of the police (which we were seated with!!)

The festivities lasted well into the evening, but here’s a little snippet from the church service, and the singing that spontaneously happens when you get a room full of singers. (The photos were taken by the town photographer)

Corale Bilacus 60th Anniversary Celebration

It was so special to be a part of this event. They were all so happy to see us there and really appreciated (and acknowledged) the relationship we’ve built over the years with them. If you’ve been to one of our retreats in Bellagio, you know we aren’t just showing you pretty towns and famous places on Lake Como. We want you to get to know the people, their history and their present lives as well, and I believe us being there at that moment (without a retreat taking place) showed them how much we truly care about them.

They are a big part of the connection we have to this town we love so much, and our prayers are to continue to encourage our friends there, speak truth in love to them, and just be a light to all the people the Lord brings into our lives there.

There’s so much more I could say, but I’ll save that for this summer when we are there again.

What I want to encourage you today in is this…

God places people in our lives for a reason. I don’t believe there are “coincidences” in life.

So let’s start each day by:

~ Seeking Him in His Word

~ Putting our dreams and goals in His might hands

~ Setting our feet on the path of His will for our lives

He has so much He wants to do through your life, and believe me… He will supply all you need to do His will, for His glory.

Have a GREAT Monday everyone!

Hugs to all,

Laura McCollough

“ And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

P.S. I got lots of sketching in while I was there too… so I’ll share more of that on my IG!