kaits ramble

November 7, 2006

Well I just did a little re-read of a few of my past blogs and have realized that my writing style and effort has definitely gone down-hill in the last little while as far as blogging goes. Perhaps this could be seen as a good thing though, that I’m more preoccupied with where I am and in enjoying Europe than I am with writing about it. Or perhaps I’ve just gotten lazy☺
At this moment we are on a Train traveling from Strasbourg to Paris, and it’s so foggy out that even the houses we’re passing right next to the track are hazy and blurred. It’s chilly outside, cold enough to see my breath and make me thankful that I purchased a nice fleece jacket on our way up Mt. Blanc last week.
Our time in Strasbourg has been slightly uneventful compared to previous city-visits, including a 2-hour trip to the laundry-mat and dinner at a little smoke filled pizza parlor last night (where I single-handedly consumed an entire medium-sized vegetarian pizza. So much for losing weight on this trip.)
We’re glad for the rest, however, because Paris is going to bustling and busy and than it’s on to London, which will also be a busy stop.
We’re all doing very well health-wise and all that. We’ve pretty much mastered the art of European train stations and communicating in foreign languages using props and hand-gestures, and the only thing that still seems bizarre to us is the fact that we’ll be flying home in less than 20 days.
For the past 5 or 6 days I’ve been trying to make my way through reading the Old Testament, and I’ve made the commitment of not purchasing or reading any other books for the remainder of my time here in Europe. I’ve found that I can comfortable make my way though about 25 pages per day, and I’m right now in the middle of 2 Chronicles, which is as sluggish as it gets so I figure if I can make it through this I’ll be able to make it through anything. I’ve really come to appreciate how coming to Europe has thrown me completely out of my daily routines and away from everything familiar. God has used it as an opportunity to reveal himself to me in ways I have never experienced before, and to speak to me about aspects of my life that I’ve been much “too busy” to think about back home. I think anyone could appreciate the freshness that comes with experiencing new things and new places, and if for no other reason, I would still be thankful for my time here because of how much I’ve grown to love and trust God in so many new ways. The more intimately I get to know Him the more I desire to push everything and everyone in my life aside in order to make more room for Him. He’s all that I want and everything that I’ll ever need to be content and fulfilled. Yet merely loving Him, as He recently reminded me, is not enough. It’s not good enough to hide from the world and from the people in my life and simply know and trust God. A little verse that I learned in a song at church popped into my head this morning as I was mulling these thoughts around in my head.
“This is my Commandment; that you love one another, that your joy may be full”. It dawned on me that loving others is the second half of his greatest command, to love our lord with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, but to also love others as we love ourselves. As much as I want to hide from the world sometimes, as much as often feel the only one I can ever trust is God; He wants my joy to be complete by loving others, by being loved by others, as well. It’s amazing how balancing the priorities of our love for God and the other people in our life becomes so much clearer when we give Him the time and effort He deserves. Ok enough preaching from Kait…Hope you’re all doing well, and that you’re finding time in your school and worked filled lives to always learn something new every day☺ Love to you,
-Kait.