I love my friends. I love my family. I love every single way God
has blessed me in the wonderful home I have back in the states. Therefore,
over the course of my time in France,
I have had moments when I could not wait to get back to it all. After the
break, I got back to Pau
and all of the sudden, the end was in sight. Coming home was a reality
instead of a dream, and I began thinking only of how hard I would hold my
parents and friends in hello hugs, and whether or not I would be able to remain
standing when I first saw Kelly. Soon enough, God's plans for growing me
and stretching me lost their importance, and the days began pass slower and
slower.
Now don't get me wrong, the people God has blessed me with in this hotel are
beyond comparison. I consider it an honor to be in such close quarters
with the wonderful people I have been living with for the past 6 weeks, but fellowship
is fellowship, and it is hard to come by when you leave the nice little
Christian bubble that so many of us depend upon. So because of that, I
was pushing God farther and farther from me, and my daily activities began
resulting in basically nothing.
But, apparently, that's not what God had in mind for this trip to France. Apparently,
I was supposed to strive for a life resembling that of Christ's the WHOLE time
I'm here. Who would have thunk it? So, God delivered to me, a
sanctuary. He gave me Nantes France. A
friend of mine, who has now become a good friend of mine, named Leah
allowed me to come visit her for the weekend. I emphasize allow, because
I sort of invited myself to go. So my Pau
friend, Mike, and I ventured out to Nantes early
Friday morning, and after a 7 hour train/bus ride, we made it to the wonderful
city of Nantes.
We were greeted with open arms by Leah, and immediately began enjoying the
city around us. As soon as we began to walk, I began to feel the Spirit
flowing through me and bringing me back to life. As we walked to get
lunch, I passed the area where a few friends of mine from Campus Crusade for Christ
had performed a dramatic interpretation of Jesus' love for His children just
under a year ago, and I began to picture in my mind what it must have been like
to have such wonderful people there working for the glory of God. I could
not help but imagine what Mr. Dave Lyell felt like taking the tram to get there
with his face completely covered in black paint. After all the castles
I've walked through, and all the historical cathedrals I've seen, I knew that I
had finally found Holy Ground. And from that moment on, the weekend just
got better and better.
The next day, Leah, Mike and I all met some of Leah's friends, from the
campus ministry Agape, for a basketball game. I hate basketball.
I'm bad at watching the sport, let alone playing it. But what I failed to
remember was that, regardless of my skill level, these people would welcome me
with open arms and zero judgment. Finally...I had fellowship. After
a time span of about 1 hour, Christ had already given me a handful of good
friends. The conversation was enlightening and filled with
laughter. I was home in a foreign country. A little later that day,
Mike left to go back to Pau,
and Leah and I ventured out to a church sponsored football tournament.
Though I, again, met some really cool people, I'm pretty sure Smiles beat me in
the amount of friends made. The entire time we were there consisted of
sitting in the grass and playing like little kids, as if no one were
watching. Finally...fellowship. That night, a group of us had
dinner back at Leah's, and spent the entire night being ridiculously childish
and not caring for a single moment.
Sunday morning rolled around faster than I had realized that I was actually
in Nantes, and after a wonderful French sermon,
patiently translated to me in English by Leah, I was heading back to Pau. It was over as
fast as it had started, and I barely had time to register what God had done for
me. After a few attempts to get me to stay longer, and hugs all around, I
was on the train back to Pau.
Luckily, I had 9 hours to think about what I had just been given.
Since my trip to Nantes,
I have found myself slipping into the comforts that God had provided me in my
weekend visit. I close my eyes and I picture the faces of Rudy, David,
Lisa, Viaud, and Leah, and I remember what it's like to see Christ in a pair of
eyes staring straight back into mine. I had forgotten what it was like to
praise God through prayer with other people, or how much fun it was to hang out
with people that would walk up to strangers and introduce them to a stuffed
smiley face. I've said it before, but it has never been so relevant.
God shows me beauty everywhere I go. No matter the country, the planet,
the galaxy, He is beautiful where ever we go. Since I have been here, I
have had the blessing to see Him in nature, history, and love; but now I have
seen Him directly. This weekend, He was in every action, every breath,
every hug, every word, every thing about those around me. I praise God
for this.
Thank you to all of those who, so openly, accepted me into their lives this
past weekend. Thank you for reminding me what it is to work for the Glory
of God no matter where we are or how we must do it. I am forever in your
debt, and will always be willing to help any of you in any way possible...as
long as you read this.
