Six Months and Counting...

I've now passed the half way mark. Sixty percent of my time here in France has finished, and I have only 4 more months to look forward to. I love these monthly posts that allow me to reflect, to see what God has done so far, to see where I've come from and where I'm going.

I've gotten better and better at rolling with the punches, at starting to feel okay with having no idea where I am or what I'm doing, of realizing that I'm absolutely going to mess up with communication and cultural etiquette, and that probably it will be extremely embarrassing, but I'll definitely live through it.  Being outside my comfort zone is starting to feel a tiny bit more comfortable. At first, the constant pressure of not being in my own culture was exhausting, overwhelming, and frustrating. But now He has grown me to handle it. When I am most discouraged and ready to give up, He places into my hands a gift that reminds me that He is in control, has a plan, and is doing something with my life.

It's just a few days past the six month mark, and I'm hobbling around like an old woman. No seriously, I am.

Here's what happened. The other day I went over to some fellow American's house so I could help them clean up a bit after their remodeling. I had been there about fifteen minutes, and had barely done anything when suddenly I sneezed!.... and threw out my back.

That's right, I seriously injured myself by sneezing. Thank you, father, for the exceptionally powerful sneezing I have inherited from you.

At first, I thought the pain would go away and that I might be able to move normally again. Wrong. I could barely walk, and once I sat down there was no getting back up. So here I am now, a few days later, better than before, but still hobbling around and doing these tricky rolls out of bed so that I land on my feet and can straighten up. I should probably be more concerned by my current situation, especially considering my primary means of transport involve a lot of walking. But in all honesty, I find this rather hysterical. If only you all could have seen me try and get out of bed this morning.

...on second thought, just take my word for it. It's funny.

And I'm also trusting that God will do the cool things He does and that by the time He's ready to send me on the next task, my back will be more than able to handle whatever it is.

So other than being a temporary cripple, the six month mark finds me thankful and expectant. I'm thankful for the breakthroughs in various relationships that He has given me in the last month. I'm thankful that He sent my Chelsea friend out to visit and encourage me for a couple weeks. I'm thankful that He works out everything for the good of those who love and obey Him. And I'm expectant that He'll keep doing just that- working things out for good. I'm expecting Him to take me by surprise, to teach me things, to use me in other people's lives. I'm expectant that He'll.... well... do something, even though I can't foresee just what it might be.