The Plans He Has...

It's Thursday night, which means that we only have two more days here. It seems like we've been here a really long time, but I'm not quite ready for it to end yet. We spent the day at Versailles today. We got to see the palace and the home of Marie Antionette. The homes were cool, but the gardens were beyond amazing. I think there are around 250 acres of gardens. They're all immaculate. The trees are all sculpted, and there are tons of flowers - it's absolutely beautiful. I took a ton of pictures, but my photo software has chosen not to work properly right now, so I can't upload anything.

Marie met us for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant. I had bruschetta and some tortellini with asparagus. It was delightful. I'm really going to miss the food when I come home.

I'm really tired right now. I think I may have suddenly adjusted to Paris time, because it feels really late - it's almost midnight. At least we're sleeping in tomorrow.

Tomorrow is our spiritual retreat day. We're all going to spend time alone with God. I'm looking forward to it. I hope and pray that I'll get some sense of direction and clarity about what all of this means and what direction my life should take when I get home. One of the things that I struggle with the most is trust. I would really like for God to show me the answers on my time schedule instead of His. I know that there are things that He's called me to do, and I know that I'm not ready to do those things right now, but I have a really hard time staying patient and trusting that He'll provide everything I need and that His time schedule is best. I know His plans are to "prosper me and not harm me; to give me hope and a future" (Jer 29:11), but it's so hard to wait. I do have hope - I have hope for many things. I know that one day I will stand face to face with God, ready to spend eternity with Him. I look forward to that day. I have hope that tomorrow can bring amazing things, and I have hope that God can use my life for His glory if I choose to let Him. I just feel unsettled right now, and I long for His peace.

And with that, I'm off to bed. Love and hugs from Paris!