Monday, July 22, 2013

POST PARIS

The 2-Month mark is here (since my departure from the States) with which I celebrated by a quick trip to Paris on an amazingly tight budget! I am accomplishing some things that I have always dreamed of doing. The pictures will be up later today but I'll give you a foreshadowing of what's to come: Magnitude of God's gift of artistry imparted to man, manifested in the beautiful paintings of the Louvre; Awe and pleasure of being directly under the Eiffel Tower and watching from the "mall" of grass as it lit up and shone into the night, enjoying French wine and chocolate late into the night with hundreds of other people; loveliness of the structure of the Notre Dame and implications of International mass on a Sunday morning- watching as thousands of people recite, pray, sing, and take part in something that is so much bigger than us all... Truly the weekend was incredible.

Some things I have come away with: my heart breaks at the reality of a culture so lost. Even in the presence of such an awe-inspiring structure as the Notre Dame yesterday morning, hearing music that made me want to weep at its beauty... All of that is nothing with the absence of a relationship with the One who created it all, without a relationship with the Maker and Giver of all of these gifts. He has given man the ability to create, to think, and to perform well, and man (we) in return so often use it to our own gain. My heart broke as I saw thousands of people buying souvenirs in booths lining the street outside the famous cathedral. The sellers of these booths are selling useless trinkets and objects without any connection to the One whom the Church is dedicated to.... On a Sunday morning thousands of people can sit through services in that building and miss it completely, just hit me.

On a lighter note, I am SO glad to be back in Germany! The structure, the people, the discipline, and rootedness to the land and their families, I am a fan. Oh, and the language! I was so happy to hear German instead of French, who would have thought? French, you may have my taste buds, some of my music DNA, and my fashion, but Germany has my hygiene, friends, language, musical richness, tradition, and my heart! Good to be "home" :)

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