*Jane in Vienna*
We are leaving tonight at 10:40 on a night train to Paris. We'll get there in the mid-morning, and then I will attempt to set up as many things as possible before I am too exhausted. The first thing I need is my bank account, because then I will receive my first Fulbright payment :)
Some of you know that this summer has been rough for us. It seemed that as we prepared for our year in Europe everything went wrong. We've had to say, "It could have been worse," or "It all worked out in the end," about a lot of things, which implies that our accomplishments floated on the surface of deep frustration.
How simple could it be to send a set of keys from Paris to Vienna? Well for us, horribly complicated. My landlord's wife sent my keys by Chronopost next day service Thursday night, and I waited for them all weekend and then finally yesterday wrote an openly unhappy email to my landlord. Of course - the keys had been in Vienna since Friday morning. This was just a little bit of good news, because the company shipping the keys in France does not exist in Austria, so I still had no idea where they were in the city. This morning I woke up at 7 am and spent 2.5 hours calling to France, then calling to Austria, and eventually I learned the name of the company that I really needed to talk to all along: TNT shipping. From there it was easy - a pickup was arranged this afternoon. But from yesterday evening I was consumed with trying to solve this problem. Thankfully Nick woke up and helped me when I started crying desperately because I couldn't figure out how to dial a French number from our Austrian phone.
So once again, things "worked out in the end." I wanted to leave Vienna today, and the keys came just in time. The story of the summer! Some of you know that the many obstacles of this summer have caused me to question how active God is in the world. The question is: does the fact that things just seem to come through for us mean that God steps in at the last possible moment to save us, and that this is evidence of his glory and goodness? Or is this evidence that after waiting patiently for all forces in the universe to work things out, a problem was cleared due to our impatient diligence? Was it solely up to us all along? I realize that not everyone reading these posts is interested in spirituality, but if you are, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Anyway, I am looking forward to getting to Paris so that the last large chunk of unknown will come into the light and we can someday start researching (I read the introduction of a book a few days ago...) It does, however, disappoint me to be leaving Austria after I have started to feel so comfortable speaking German. It's as though all of the words I have been looking up and all of the concentration I have been putting forth is now wasted because I have to start again with French.
Bon voyage Jane and Nick!
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Jane,
ReplyDeleteYou know dear ole Dad loves to ponder things spiritual and IMO if God makes things too easy for me sometimes I find myself relying less on Him and tending not to pray (just talking) with Him! Even the atheist (according to the Word even they have knowledge of Him in their heart) cries God's name at least in fearful times. Surprise, God did not put us here to have a good time but do His Will! So, in our fallen state we usually are trying to go on our own or at our own speed - not God's! Not saying this is what is happening to you two but these events have caused you to question God and sometimes that is the only time He hears from us! Enough preaching! Praying for both of you! Disclaimer: feel free to delete this, if felt inappropriate!
dad- thanks for the comments. i am going to ponder your ideas...
ReplyDeleteI think the deeper question is: How do you think God really does work in this world?
ReplyDeleteIf your view of God is that he is working behind the scenes to make things easier for Christians, but not too easy so they don't forget about Him, but noticeably enough so that others can see He is blessing them than yeah I think it'd be frustrating. It also makes your faith more fragile. If you have an underlying understanding with God that He will keep the things you love safe, than when tragedy strikes or someone dies or something you end up blaming God for allowing it to happen and that can shatter someone's faith.
I don't really know exactly the positive of how you SHOULD view God, but I'm just saying I dislike giving God credit or discredit for everyday happenings that aren't notable supernatural. Not that I don't pray about those things, but it is more in communion with God and not really in expectancy for Him to step in on my behalf. I feel that prayer helps shape my desires toward God's desires which becomes a direct answer to the prayer: "your kingdom come"