2 Days to Go

So, I feel a little silly having started this blog as soon as I did, but you have to understand the mentality that I had when I made it... "Maybe I'll get in the habit and it won't be hard to just get on and write when I'm in France..." We'll see how that goes...

I leave on Wednesday at 1:50pm from Colorado Springs and I'm going to arrive in Paris the next day at 9:45am. Saying that over and over in my head has helped me realize that this is really happening and that I need to finish doing the packing and last minute school paperwork, but it remains, to some degree, surreal to me. God has blessed me so much this summer that I am having a difficult time leaving. I have been built up and challenged this summer in a very gentle way and I feel like it is about to come to an abrupt halt. Moving to a different country will stretch me in ways I did not know existed. I am looking forward to the result, but not the painful process to get there.

I am packing a suitcase, trying to heed the advice of those who have gone before me, but it's been more difficult than I anticipated. "Do I really need this big of a suitcase?"... "Yes, I do because I want to buy stuff while I'm over there"... "What if it gets lost amidst the other luggage and doesn't find me until I'm in Tours..." Silly, huh? I have no control over the situations that are running around in my head, but I am more than willing to get hyped up. The packing will work itself out and the luggage will be there when I need it... however you define "need"...

I find myself missing my friends from college at this point. Having heard of their lives in the cornfields starting back up again, I sit here and stare at the majestic Pikes Peak and think of the new beginning that I am forced to make in two days. I could make it sound dramatic and say that I will be surrounded by strangers and not be able to connect with anyone, but that would be putting God in a box. I know he will do great things and I want to be a vessel for him in the broken country of France, but I fear that I will not be worthy of the calling.

Please pray that I have safe travels on Wednesday, that my family would rest in the fact that I am in God's hands and there is no better place for me to be, and that I would have courage to share my beliefs with those I come into contact with. I would greatly appreciate hearing from you this semester and still being included in your lives. Thank you!