The Greatest Lesson

I developed the following paragraphs for a friend who is writing an essay about traveling.  The most important things I have learned on this trip became apparent to me while I was putting this together, so I thought I would share it will you all!

I was raised in a non-denominational Christian church.  I believe Christianity is only about you and your relationship with Christ.  For me, religious spaces are personal.  They are a place for an individual to use for fellowship, reflectance, or a simple escape from the distractions of life.  Because of this, I had an awesome time experiencing religious places in different cultures throughout Europe, Russia, and Asia.  Catholicism, Buddhism, Muslim, and Jewish religions are some of the main ones I was introduced to over the past 3 months.  It does not matter what religion, we all believe in God in one way or another, but it is our actions and methods of worshipping that make the difference.  The cathedrals, pagodas, temples, mosques, and synagogues were all entirely different in the culture of the space, but I also found them to have one thing in common; I almost always felt a spiritual presence. 

I made it a personal goal at the beginning of this trip to take advantage of the wide range of religions I would be introduced to and pray in every church or religious space that I could.  As the end of World Tour 5 nears, I can say that this has been my absolute favorite thing I have done.  It has opened my eyes to the world, and caused me to question my faith in a good way.  Even though I may not agree with different religions, I am more respectful of them.  Witnessing day after day the Muslim dedication to prayer in Turkey is perhaps the most inspiring to me spiritually.  Also being able to worship in historic places like Notre Dame in Paris, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, and the Vatican in Rome was almost unreal, knowing I was one of the millions of people who have worshipped there.  For me to say that I have grown in my faith is a huge understatement because my experiences in religious spaces around the world have simply been indescribable.