I think I am getting worse and worse at this whole blog thing. My posts are becoming more and more spread out! But really, it is time's fault. Yes, time. He keeps deciding to speed up so that I never know how long it has really been since the last time I wrote. That is my excuse and I'm stickin' to it!
After I finished midterms and midterm papers, I fell into the most dreadful and pleasant slump of laziness. I lost all motivation to do anything productive because I knew that I was finally finished with all responsibility for at least 10 days. No classes, nothing. Les vacances had begun. The first six days of break, I stayed in Aix while most everyone else scattered off to various parts of Europe. The weather was mostly beautiful during the days, then rained during the nights. I had the privilege of spending most every day with Jenn and Shayla, two of the girls I met at church. We watched movies, ate delicious food, and celebrated our friendship over drinks on Halloween.On Nov. 1st, I spent the afternoon with Kate in Marseille. We got Starbucks, then headed to the Old Port to explore some. I have decided that I love Marseille, no matter how dirty, smelly, or scary it is. It has a rugged sort of beauty that is rather intriguing.
After I finished midterms and midterm papers, I fell into the most dreadful and pleasant slump of laziness. I lost all motivation to do anything productive because I knew that I was finally finished with all responsibility for at least 10 days. No classes, nothing. Les vacances had begun. The first six days of break, I stayed in Aix while most everyone else scattered off to various parts of Europe. The weather was mostly beautiful during the days, then rained during the nights. I had the privilege of spending most every day with Jenn and Shayla, two of the girls I met at church. We watched movies, ate delicious food, and celebrated our friendship over drinks on Halloween.On Nov. 1st, I spent the afternoon with Kate in Marseille. We got Starbucks, then headed to the Old Port to explore some. I have decided that I love Marseille, no matter how dirty, smelly, or scary it is. It has a rugged sort of beauty that is rather intriguing.
Shayla and me!
Me and Jenn (I love cidre!!)
One of the days, I finally made it up to the top of Mt. Sainte Victoire! It was phenomenal. I didn't want to leave! It was a lot more difficult than I expected, but the view was worth it 100 times. As we were hiking up, I often tripped and stumbled because I was so fascinated by the scenery that I forgot to watch my feet. But then if I watched my feet instead, I missed the beauty around me. It made me think about how we, as Believers, are on the narrow bumpy path, working our way in life towards our Lord. The problem is, we are stuck in a certain spot, not knowing whether to take in His glory around us and risk falling, or carefully watch each and every step, and miss out on that which fills our souls. What can we do? We can take hold of the rugged scarred hands that are reached out to us. And as He leads us up the mountain, closer to Abba, He gently, intimately whispers where to place our feet, so that we can look up and behold His majesty without falling on our faces. We must simply trust Him that He will not let us go.
Ready to go!
The St. Victoire Masters
The cross at the tippy top
Finally, I packed up my back-pack and headed to Amsterdam to stay the weekend with my dear, sweet friend, Nienke. How I've missed her! I was a little nervous about actually getting there since I was supposed to take a bus from Aix to Marseille, a plane from Marseille to Eindhoven, a bus from the airport to Eindhoven Central, then two trains from Eindhoven to Amsterdam, then somehow find Nienke after reaching Amsterdam, and all done without a cell phone. But God is incredibly humorous and amazing, and I made my way without too much trouble. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed riding around Amsterdam on bikes, seeing a glimpse of Nienke's life there. I am still blown away by the amount and usage of bikes there. It is an entirely different world! Amsterdam truly is a unique, special place. The buildings are crooked, but linear at the same time. The canals are dirty and beautiful. The people are well-dressed, relaxed, and accepting. The atmosphere is chill, relaxed, and light. Though there were people everywhere in the streets, I never once felt threatened, even at night. And Nienke was such a great hostess! Our relationship hasn't changed one bit in these past months since she moved back. We spent all our time watching movies, drinking tea, eating Dutch snacks, and catching up on each other's lives. We were able to spend one night at her parents house, 30 minutes by bus from the city. They fed me true Dutch food, and taught me a traditional dutch game. I even had the privilege of meeting her grandmother. I look back on last weekend and can't help but smile for the fond memories that were made.
Hot and fresh waffles
Num, num..
Herring sandwiches (she thinks she's a fish!)
The market
Bicycles galore!
The encouraging sign Mr. Eric made for me during the game
Bye Nienks!
So after my wonderful week off, I'm back to Aix, and back to classes. The next few weeks will be full of projects, presentations, tests, and trying to do as many things around here as possible before I must head back to the States. I am determined to take advantage of every moment here. I want to travel, and do things around the city that I haven't done yet. I want to soak in as much of France as I can, so that maybe I can bring a little piece of it back with me. Yes, I miss my friends and my family, but I have fallen in love with the language and culture of this country. I know that I will miss it when I'm back at home.
Speaking of home, my heart is aching for everything that I've heard about Shorter University, my dear Shorter. I am scared of what I am going back to. Last semester everything was so great when we left for the summer. People were being saved, lives changed; Shorter was becoming a beacon of light in the city of Rome. And even at the beginning of this semester it was like that. But now it is chaos. My heart hurts for the people who have been offended, and those who are being turned away from Christianity. What's more, is my heart hurts for my brothers and sisters who are being misunderstood and falsely accused. Still, as my heart cries out, these steady words slip into my mind:
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt. 5:9-12)."
He tells us to rejoice in our suffering.. even when we are misunderstood and falsely accused. Now is the time to stand up. Today is the day that God is asking us to take up our crosses and fight for Him. Will we, will I be able to put away my fear of confrontation, my fear of what people think of me, and say what I know to be true? Will I rejoice in the midst of all this? Since I am an ocean away from the drama, press, strikes and bomb-threats that are happening at Shorter, I will ready myself for battle (that is, spiritual battle!). I realize now that God has been preparing me this whole semester for whatever lies ahead in the next few months. He has been preparing us all! Until then, I will continue to lift my university up in constant prayer, praying for my brothers and sisters, my community, who are taking a stand for the Gospel. Keep your eyes fixed on Him!!
Peace and Blessings!
-B
No comments:
Post a Comment