Mon Aventure

Three days have elapsed since my last post.

Every day I waited, listening and wondering what I would be inspired to share with you next. "How long will it be til my next post?"

A few of you are out there, just as eager for the next post as me..... like my mother, dying for an update on the whereabouts of her little girl. Others are anxious to know if we've found a place to live, a flat to rent, etc.

I thought my next post would be about my apartment search and more about my exploration of the city. I've got a heap of material piling up to share with you. I'm going to have to sort through pictures and thoughts to find the best stuff to give you.

All of that is still coming very soon, but this blog would be empty if I didn't share with you what happened to me yesterday evening. I need to pause and give this the weight it deserves.

Yesterday I reached the point in this trip where I had my fill of exploring the city alone. Not only was I alone during the day, but for two days in a row my husband had to work late into the night at the office, leaving me cozy in the room. The first night it was fun. A change of pace. Many of you know how much I love my independance and alone time. For me to have my fill of alone time is a tremendous accomplishment.
By the third day of the trip I was getting tired of it, but hanging in there. Practicing a handful of French phrases out on the street does not satisfy the need for social interaction. By the time Chris came back to the room each night, I was babbling a mile a minute in English.

By the fourth day (yesterday) I was completely fed up with the amount of alone time. I could feel a female adult temper tandrum coming on and I didn't want to go there. It was 5:00pm. I skyped Chris and asked if it was going to be another late night, trying to brace myself. He estimated an earlier return of 7:30pm. I was ready to make him sign it in blood, but I didn't go there either.

I turned to the computer to send an e-mail to my Mom. God has provided for me countless times through her company, even across the miles. I wrote about 2 paragraphs and about 400 words before it happened. It was good stuff too. I was venting all my loneliness, filling her in on everything I just told you. It was when I got to this next part that it happened..................
I said, "Ginger (my French tutor when I was 8 years old) e-mailed and told me that some of her best times with God were when she first moved to France, and felt alone and isolated. Mom, would you please pray for me that I would write to Him more often instead of just writing to you?"

That's when the computer shut off.

Computers shut off all the time for various scientific reasons. It's not plugged in. The battery died. It overheated. Etc. I checked everything. Everything was fine. I pushed the power button. It started to boot up and then turned off again. I tried this several times with the same result. I was starting to get the picture. So I said, "fine." I turned away from the computer, wondering what to do next. The room was very empty without my computer. It was dark and cold outside, so I wasn't about to go out there. Then I saw the TV. That monstrous thing that my husband loves so much. (Yes, I see the irony and my hypocrisy.) I had not turned it on once in 5 days. But I thought, "what's the harm? God can speak to me through something on the television and voices talking on TV would help with the lonliness."

I turned on the television. It was on for about 5 seconds and it shut off. "What in the world," I said aloud. All other types of electricity in the room were working fine. And my computer is not on the same outlet network as the TV. I turned it on again. It shut off. I smiled. This sort of thing has never happened to me. It's happened to other people but not to me. I was pleased, but a little perturbed. I looked around the room. "What?" I said indignately, "Am I going to hear an audible voice next? This is nuts," I said aloud. Or something to that effect. I might not have said "this is nuts." I was feeling a little too reverant for that. I sat down on the bed. "So, what do you want me to do next?" I said. I got the sense that I could do whatever I wanted and He would stop me if it didn't serve the need of the moment. He just wanted my attention. In a sense, I had talked to Him through my e-mail to Mom and told Him I wanted to learn how to BE WITH Him. He was giving me what I asked for.

What I did in the next hour is besides the point. The variety of actions and stillness that met the need in that moment will not be the same every time I have a moment like that with Him. Over the course of the next hour I lost my lonliness and found fullness in His company. I could have read a bible (I didn't, because I didn't have one with me. I've been relying on the online bible.) I could have reviewed scriptures and sayings hidden in my heart. I could have danced or listened to music. I could have riden the tram to the Paquis district to give cash to a woman on the street because I didn't have any cash on me to give her the other day. I could have done a hundred different things.

I could even have watched TV, if it had been working.

The point is that I needed to listen more closely to Him. I needed to find my fullness in Him. I do listen to Him. He has always directed my steps on some level. But last night I decided to walk closer. To listen even more carefully.

I'm reminded of all the couples I see walking arm in arm down the streets of Geneva. It's been refreshing to be in a city where the cultural norm is for a woman to take her husband's arm as she walks down the street. I love doing that with Chris, but I feel silly doing that in an American city where it stands out as so old fashioned.

I'm getting sidetracted. The point is, I took Jesus' arm last night and I moved in a step closer to Him.

I know, I know... He's everywhere. He's beside me, He's within me, He's all encompassing. It's confusing. But I like this analogy for today.

The danger in sharing this story with you is that you might be jealous and desire to have an identical experience. You might want God to turn things off in a spooky way. My heart has been in that exact same place when I've heard others tell a story like this.

But God shouldn't need to do weird things to get my attention. I want to learn to give Him my full attention every moment of every day, when everything seems normal.

(My computer is working just fine now, by the way, as you can tell. No explanation.) If you have a scientific explanation for what happened there, DON'T write and even attempt to burst my bubble. Whether God used science or not is besides the point.)

I shared this story with you because it's an important part of MY little story. The discussion of renting a flat would ring hollow without this account.

Before we move on to anything else, I want us to stop and savor this moment.

Immanuel.

God with us.

He's right there in the room with you. Did you look up from your computer? Yep, I caught you!

The only thing I want you to take away from this blog post is that He's REAL. And He's HERE. Most of you already know this. But are you going to ENJOY Him today?