Beneath the Tuscan Sun

When she walked out wearing an apron with a towel flung over her shoulder I knew we were in for a special treat! It had been much too long since I had seen my friend Kim Whitaker. Meeting up with her again in her new part-time home in Italy made our visit most spectacular. 

For a good 30 years, we shared church life. She entertained us all with her singing, hospitality, and knee-slapping humor. For several years, I had the privilege of teaching both of her sons in Sunday School. Unbeknownst to her, I’ve always been a bit envious of her flair for decorating a table and cooking mouth-watering dishes. I covertly became her student, studying her seemingly carefree style of entertaining. However, in the last decade or so, our personal lives slowly wrapped themselves around one other. After thunderous laughs and crying jags, we’ve jerked many an unsuspecting tissue from its box.

In Italy this past week, Kim graciously immersed Ron and me in Tuscan culture by introducing us to the Italian family she has grown to love. Surrounded in the splendor of rolling hills, a geometrically perfected vineyard, and what had to be one of God’s most artistic sunsets, we spent hours around their table enjoying appetizers, mushroom tortellini, pot roast, and vegetables.  

Yet perhaps, the after-dinner conversation gently massaged my emotions more than anything. You see, Kim is a modern-day Joseph. She has endured times of testing and tribulation and come out the other side stronger, more resilient, and more certain of the power of the Holy Spirit. Like Joseph in the last chapters of Genesis, she has experienced God’s overwhelming presence and the peace that comes after totally surrendering. Unlike many who only know the love of God and the grace of Jesus, Kim has enjoyed the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit. She pays attention when He speaks. She lets Him lead the way. She understands that life is better when His plan is followed, no matter where that may lead – even if it leads to Italy! Without a doubt, like Joseph in Genesis 50:20, she knows that the things that caused her harm have supernaturally worked together for good!

Sunday morning, we took communion together in a vineyard with four of her friends who had booked her as their tour guide. Standing there among the vines, we clung more tightly to Jesus, our Vine. Now, more than ever, I am encouraged to abide closer to Jesus, revel in God’s love, and hand over to the Holy Spirit whatever control I foolishly think I might have– once and for all. 

Kim has a new book, Finding the Pieces, that will be coming out soon. She graciously allowed me to read a few chapters along the way as she was writing. It whetted my appetite for so much more. Her writing displays a magnificent cast of characters and experiences whom God expertly choreographed convincing her of His overwhelming love for her. In return, Kim graciously lavishes that same love on everyone she meets. You can learn more about her adventures and tours in Italy as well as updates on her book by following Kim Whitaker on Facebook. Or, you can subscribe to Perfection Road (www.perfectionroad.com/blog), and I will be sure to let you know when the book comes out.

While in Italy, Ron and I soaked in all the sights. We beheld the beauty of St. Patrick’s Basilica, stood where the gladiators stood in the Colosseum, beheld the work of Michelangelo, leaned with the tower of Pisa, watched waves lap the Italian coastline, walked through the walled city of San Gimignano, wandered through Sienna, and lazily floated down the Grand Canal on a gondola in Venice. But perhaps nothing compares to the work God has done in and through the life of my friend Kim. She is God’s masterpiece whom He created in advance to do incredibly more than she could have ever asked or imagined. 

And He can do the same for you!

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10 NIV)

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20 NIV)

Posted in
Picture Of Nature With Saying Beneath The Tuscan Sun

Donna Jackson

More Than We Seem

By Donna Jackson | March 28, 2023 |

Blog-inspiring analogies and metaphors manifest themselves in all sorts of ways – even in Winnie the Pooh movies. As my grandson and I sat snacking and watching Pooh’s Great Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin, I witnessed an incredible comparison too good to ignore. As the movie opens, it is the last golden day of…

Things to Do, Places to Go

By Donna Jackson | March 21, 2023 |

We began 2023 talking about “Beginnings”. Then in February, we explored “Relationships”. You might not have realized that a fresh Wind blew in two weeks ago. March has been centered on the work of the Holy Spirit. Before we go any further, perhaps it would be a good idea for you to ask yourself, “How…

Choices Lead Feelings Follow

By Donna Jackson | March 14, 2023

What snapshots make it into your photo albums? Maybe yours are filled with weddings, births, parties, reunions, and gatherings of all kinds. There are smiling people and places we don’t want to forget, so we capture single, fleeting moments in time and file them away for safekeeping. By recalling the joyful moments, we vicariously recapture…

Reverse the Curse

By Donna Jackson | March 7, 2023

I walked off the stage Saturday, and I just knew. The curse had been supernaturally reversed!  Just five years earlier, Freedom for the Good Little Church Girl, the book that kept my computer hot for months,emerged from the womb of the printing press. Fragrant, black ink splashed crisp, clean pages with a scent of newness.…

The Jesus Revolution and Me

By Donna Jackson | February 28, 2023

A spark from the Jesus Revolution drifted across the country in the early 70’s and ignited something in my heart. I had no idea it would take another 50 years to fan that flickering ember into a roaring flame. I became a Christian at 13 in a decade when fringed vests, love beads, bell bottoms,…

It’s a Process!

By Donna Jackson | February 21, 2023

Learning of any kind is a process.  Before Ron and I married, he had taken enough guitar lessons to enable him to strum a few chords. But then, life happened. Kids. Work. Church. Like most families, we lived on the fast track. All the while, his guitar quietly sat in the closet – until recently!…

Remarkable Relationships

By Donna Jackson | February 14, 2023

Happy Valentines Day! Relationships take center stage this month on Perfection Road. Last week, messy relationships made an about-face. This week, I handed the pen to my 13-year-old grandson Jackson. His greatest gift is seeing what others often miss. I asked him to describe the impact his two adopted brothers make on his family, and…

Can Your Messy Relationship Make an About-face?

By Donna Jackson | February 7, 2023

Messy relationships happen. Sometimes, our romantic relationships slip and slide into the mud. Other times, our friends singe our patience and frustrate us to no end. Often, negative co-workers blow putrid smoke all over us. And, unfortunately, messy most often happens in our extended families. No matter the type of relationship, an old Eagles song…

A Beginning That Has No End

By Donna Jackson | January 31, 2023

In the late 70’s, I thought I could learn to play the guitar like Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, and Bonnie Raitt. However, unlike Joni, Emmylou, and Bonnie, at three-years-old I lost the end of my left index finger. I had an unfortunate mishap with our front door. Since all of the guitar chords are pressed…

Constantly Beginning Again

By Donna Jackson | January 25, 2023

Maybe you remember that 80’s TV show “The A-Team”. It depicted the antics of a wrongly-accused special forces squad who escaped military prison to become a team of do-good vigilantes. Every week, when victory was in sight, their fearless leader Hannibal would find the time to smile and declare, “I love it when a plan…