My Sunday

So, last Sunday I decided to find a church to attend, so I was searching the Internet for any church service in English. But, I forgot that I was in France and the odds of finding an English service were slim to none. So I decided to attend St. Gregory's which is about a 12 minute walk from my apartment. I searched online and saw that mass started at 9:45, but I also saw that it said 10:30 too. I was confused because I couldn't read the French so I decided to be there at 9:45 and if it was at 10:30 then I could just read until it started. Well sure enough it started at 10:30 so I just read and prayed before church started. Then about 15 minutes before mass, I went inside and the priest greeted me because he could obviously tell that I was new. He was speaking French of course and I said "Anglais?" and he said uhhh "Welcome!" That was nice. About 5 minutes later this older gentleman maybe about 65 came up to me and said, "I hear you speak English. Where are you from?" We started talking and he introduced me to his wife who doesn't speak English and then they sat by me at mass. He told me that after mass they were going to have a small going away gathering for one of the nuns and that I was invited. I said, "oh, ok" not knowing what else to say. Mass started, all of which was in French. But the thing I love about the Catholic church is that I knew what was going on. I looked up the readings online before I left so i followed along in my Bible and during the homily, I just read some parables in Luke. Once mass was over, the man said to me in his broken English, "You come with me, right?" Since he did ask me a leading question (yes I know all about these because I do have a lawyer for a father) I couldn't say no. So I said that I would go to the gathering. After mass this man knew everyone and he had to greet and say hello to everyone (reminds me of my family after church.) So I just stood patiently waiting for him so we could go to the gathering. Once he was finished chatting, we went into the room for the gathering. I walked in and everyone was clapping to welcome ME. I had no idea what was going on but the man told me to say a few words... WHAT?? I told them I was happy to be in France and that I could attend their lovely church. I didn't really know what was going on, because I was entirely caught off guard. The man translated what I said and I did catch the part where he called me shy. HAH! Well, the church was very happy to have this girl from America who spoke zero French worship with them. I talked to one other family who spoke English and they all wanted to know my life story. The priest kept walking over because I could tell he really wanted to talk to me but he didn't speak English. :( Once the gathering was finished, about 20 minutes later, the man finally asked me my name, which in France is pronounced Sare-Hah. He told me his name was Yves (pronounced Eve) and his wife's name is Annic (pronounced Ahh-Neek). The only reason I remember this is because I repeated it over and over in my head until I left the church and then I immediately made a note in my phone with pronunciations and all. Right before I left, Yves asked me, "We will see you next week, right??" I said yes of course. How could I deny the welcome I had just received?

So today is Sunday and I woke up and left my apartment at 10:10 so that I could be at church for mass at 10:30. I was excited to see Yves and Annic and be able to go to church and sing and worship. I get there and mass already started and is in the middle of the consecration (for those that aren't Catholic that is 3/4 of the way finished with mass). WHATTT?? Last week it was at 10:30 so why did it start at 9:45 this week?? UGGHH I was really sad because I feel like I lied to Yves and Annic and I wanted to go to church. So I left because I did not feel comfortable walking in 45 minutes late. I was weighing my options and as I was walking back I decided I would jump on the tram and go downtown and see what time the mass at the Cathedral was. If I missed it too, then I could go to a coffee shop and have some quiet time with the Lord. The tram is right by St. Gregory's and it is the end of the line so I could see it waiting for me. I was about 20 seconds from getting on it and it pulled away. NOOOO!! It's Sunday and the tram only runs every half hour so I would definitely miss mass. So I decided to walk to this little park that I had wanted to visit that was about a block away. I would walk and pray and have quiet time there.

Well, first of all this park was NOT small. It was huge. And it was beautiful. It's called Parc floral de la Beaujorie and there are a ton of rose gardens everywhere. Mom, I can't wait to take you there because you will LOVE it!! It's gorgeous!! I had a great time exploring. I saw people running, elderly couples walking and holding hands, a dad and his teenage daughter running together, children riding bikes, parents pushing strollers, and then I came upon the playground!!! I decided to sit on a bench and just watch. (Yes I took this picture by myself since I was alone).

I was drawn to Matthew 18:3-4.

"And he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

So I sat, watched and learned. Children are really fascinating. They get so excited about anything new or any new accomplishment.

So here are some of the things that I saw today. First, the little girl and her older sister. (Picture below). They were playing in this little house. The whole playground is made of sand and the dad, who you can see sitting and watching, brought a little shovel and bucket. The older sister was trying to get all of the sand out of the house and the little sister was trying to bring handfuls of sand into the house. Now every time the little sister would grab a handful, she had to step up the step to the house and droped about half of it in the process and then she would finally empty it into the house. She would get sooo excited that she would flap both of her hands up and down really quickly. :) Now the second she would get the sand in, the older sister would sweep it right back out, but she never did get upset with her sister. She just PATIENTLY let her sister have fun, and then she got rid of it. It was fun to watch.

The next picture is the same 2 little girls. The older sister is on the slide, and the little sister is on the second step climbing up. Now I watched the little sister for a long time. She would climb up on a step and had to completely flatten her little body in order to get up. Then she would stand up and flap her hands up and down because she was soooo excited that she had conquered the step. Then she would have to do it all over again. She gave the same excited arm flaps each time, for all three steps. Then she would stand at the top of the slide and flap her hands from excitement as her dad proudly was taking pictures with a huge grin from ear to ear. He was so proud and excited for his daughter's excitement and accomplishments. Hmm... sounds just like our Father!!


The next image is of the shy girl. She was the cutest thing I had ever seen. She had pigtails and hot pink glasses. At first she would not leave her Father's side because she was shy and didn't know any of the other children on the playground (well none of the children knew each other but they acted like they had known each other all their lives). But her father played with her and another girl came over and wanted to join in on the fun. So after a little while, the father left his daughter's side and the two girls played on the sea saw together. Then the other girl lost interest and ran away and played in the sand by herself. The shy girl, walked back to her Father's comfort and I could see him tell her that it was ok and to go ask her to play. As I watched all of this happen, I hurt for the little girl because I just wanted to her have a friend to play with. She just stood and watched the other girl playing in the sand and she kept making glances every 20 seconds back at her father. Finally, the other girl stood up and saw her friend standing by the play house and they started playing in the sand together and sharing the toys. :) Finally, friends again.


Next there are the little boys climbing on the huge jungle gym. The boy on the far left is at the top and was yelling, "Mama!" He wanted his mother to see him all the way at the top! His mother was taking pictures! Then on the jungle gym is the boy with the red cape, sword on his belt, and feather on his head. He was an explorer and exploring he was!! He sprinted to the top of the jungle gym and just stood at the top and looked at all that he had conquered, stopping to wave at his mom.
I had a great day at the park today. I realized that we need to be patient. We also don't be afraid because our Father is always watching us. He is excited for us when we accomplish something new. We need to look out for the outcasts and make sure that we include them. We are free to explore because we can conquer anything with God and He will be there to wave at us. But in all of these children, they trusted in the love of their parents. They knew their parents were always watching over them, protecting them, keeping them safe, and they felt their love.

We need to trust the love of our Father. I hear over and over again, unconditional love unconditional love. But as a mere human it is so hard to grasp. Everything in our lives is conditional. Everything. You play badly in a game, you come out. You don't study for a test, you get a C. You break the rules, you get grounded. So how are we supposed to trust the love and grace that is being showered upon us daily? I learn more and more what that love feels like daily. I just have to continue to spend time with Him to hear him call me His Beloved.


p.s. we won our first scrimmage yesterday in 5 sets! yahh!!