What Paris means to me...

When I learned that my one-month training in Paris was given away, I felt betrayed. Why let a gift be bestowed and then have it taken away? I allowed myself one cry and brushed aside the tears. There is no use letting my eyes get puffy over something that I cannot change. It was a case of “God gives and God takes.”

 

Four years later, I have been to Paris thrice. And also to Geneva, to Rome and to London. Who could imagine that a girl who used to sell sweets to her classmates to earn extra would be able to travel to places one can only dream about? God’s faithfulness has seen me through so many stages in my life.

 

Trying to remember now, was it really my desire to go to France? I am not completely sure. I have this nagging feeling that it really was not my own dream. Possibly, I saw it as the culmination of what I studied in school. To go to the dream place that everyone else was raving about. The reality is, it gave me a sneak peak of more beautiful places to discover. It became my window to the world.

 

We have this tendency to want things, not realizing that they are not really the things we want and that we do not know what we want. When I went to Paris, I only had a slight idea of what I would find. Through Paris, I was able to go to Rome. And I realized, I love Rome more. I am not discounting the value of Paris. It is beautiful. In fact, I want to emphasize what it means to me. It will always be a reminder to me that I sometimes do not know what I want and love.

 

One other thing. If God can bless me with wonderful things that I thought I so desired, imagine what He can do with things He knows that I truly love and want? A real father would only want to give the best to his child. And I know that my Father in heaven has always surprised me with everything He knows is best for me. 

As He continues to teach me to dream my own dreams and to listen to His will, I will continue to remember Paris for what it has pointedly taught me.