Taj Mahal and Jesus

OK, this post is from me (ericka).
So we spent the night in the New Delhi train station inn, called YaTree Neevas (I probably spelled that wrong). We flew in from Kolkata... and had little mini-adventures of trying to drive thru the flooded streets in a taxi to the airport, paying 3 x as much for the fare b/c of the water, but having good a good conversation w/ the guy... then at the airport, Craig ended up paying 4,000 extra Rupees ($100) for our plane tickets - and they told him this right before we got on... didn't have any explanation, just said it was in the computer system, and they didn't give a receipt, and Craig had to pay cash... or we would miss the flight!!! What is this????
Anyway, at the train station, we tried to avoid people who were trying to take more advantage of us (giving us "help", directions, etc.)... do you get the feel of how we were feeling? Probably was more dramatic than it needed to be, but once you feel like you've been taken advantage of, then you get hyper-sensitive to it, and want to protect yourself from it/those people more.
So we spent the night (2 am arrival); it was a cheap hotel, and we were thankful for the price! We woke up the next morning - 4th of JULY!!!!! Happy Independence Day, USA!!! :) :) :) And ran to the train station, sitting down in our seats, sweaty!!, 5 min before it pulled out of the station. Thank you, Lord!
We were heading to Agra to see the Amazing Taj Mahal - one of the old and new 7 wonders of the world!!!! (Just re-voted on and announced on 7-7-07)
The train ride was nice - seeing more green country-side, and our car was air-conditioned (a plus!!); then we met a very nice business man with a taxi service in Agra; who gave us a good price for a full-day cab. We both felt much better about him - he showed us over an over he was trust-worthy and not some shady guy trying to take advantage of us. (There's the trust thing again... when you're traveling, you have to trust a lot of people!)
We drove through the streets of Agra - and it had a much smaller-town feel than Kolkata or Delhi... and we could see BLUE sky, clouds, GREEN trees and grass, and hear beautiful BIRDS singing. I was SO SO excited. Kolkata had been so dusty, with blaring bus horns all the time, traffic, big city... ahhh! Here was beautiful tranquility!!
And we saw MONKEYS!!! Not in-a-zoo monkeys, but on the street, in a park, in the trees monkeys!!! Mothers walking down the road on all 4's with baby monkey hanging down under her belly. So cute!!! (I guess they can be a nuisance to the local Indians - biting, being mean, dirty, etc... but i thought they were so interesting!!! We have squirrels, they have monkeys!!! India!!!)
When we got to the property of the Taj, we walked back to it b/c they don't let cars go, to protect it from pollution - yea, India!!!! So the whole walkway was a BEAUTIFUL park!!! Lovely clean air!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! Fresh everything - sky, grass, trees, ahhhhhh!!!!! Can you tell I loved it??? And it was the 4th of July - a special treat for us!!
We got some cool, tasty Mango juice (India has some awesome mangoes - much better than ours in the states!!); and really enjoyed sitting in the shade.
Then we walked into the courts of the Taj... (payed about $17 each)... There were really pretty courtyards, red fort-walls and amazing manicured lawns... wow - i had never seen anything like it in India. It was like the best golf course; low cut, fine, beautiful green. I was so proud of India - and no trash!!! :)
Then we walked around the corner to the opening of a BIG TALL GATE, and looking through, saw... dum, dum, dum... (drum roll) the most glorious sight of THE TAJ MAHAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow.
It was BREATH-Taking. Really. I think Craig said he was personally more impressed w/ the green of the grass / park / trees; but my favorite was definitely the Taj.
It just stands there in BEAUTY. And its in 3-D, because you're actually there. I had seen pictures before, but to ACTUALLY be there - it was something else. The whole thing is made of marble, and it is so solid and beautiful and big. WOW. We had to walk up thru some park/courtyard, about 1/2 mile, and then when you got right up to it - AMAZING, so massive!!! We had to take off our shoes, but that was fun, too, to walk barefoot on the marble of the Taj. Everything was made of marble - the stairs, the floor, the courtyard up around the Taj, the 4 pillars at the 4 corners, etc. Inside you could sing a song or lift up your voice and it would echo... Tall, vaulted ceilings, all marble, w/ fancy precious stone mosaic work... green, blue, red, orange - set in flowers and swirls; in mostly white surrounding marble.
The back side of the Taj looked out over a valley... a sweeping, lazy river; herds of water buffalo, people looking like little ants bathing or playing in the water, and lots of GREEN pastures/grass land. It was SO nice to not have any other buildings around. That was part of the specialness of the place.
The coolest thing about it (besides the fun action shots we got by the profess photo-man... crazy Americans!) was the thing I heard the Lord say to me... As we walked up the steps of the Taj, i was in AWE of the beauty of the place. It was a home built by a man for his beloved wife. I thought, WOW, God, this man built this house for his wife!!! What love - it is SO SO beautiful!!! This is amazing!!! And then I heard the Lord whisper in my mind, " You should see the place I'm making for you." Are you kidding me, Lord?????? More beautiful than the Taj???!!!!! WHOAH. That is heavy. That is whoah. But He did say that He is going to prepare a place for us, and I can't wait to see it, now that I've seen the Taj!!!! And, I want to make sure I am investing in this life in things that are of God's heart, b/c I don't want to miss out on ANYTHING in the next life... the one that goes on FOREVER. sheesh. 70-100 years, that's not much; and I would so easily trade not the best life (materially, health, etc) now, for an ETERNAL wonderful wonderful amazing life next.... You know how people give advice to invest in real estate, b/c its such a good return of your money... well, I think people should really look into investing with God and His Kingdom... that real estate is the REAL ESTATE, if you get my pun! :)