a lesson in suitcase-packing

I learned a lot about suitcase-packing yesterday. ;) I flew to Germany about 6 weeks ago on a major airline, on a "humanitarian ticket," which allows me to travel with 3 suitcases at no extra charge. I used all of the 3 suitcases allotted to me--two for my own personal use and one for the University "stuff" that I brought with me. Three suitcases! Impossible to run out of space, right? Ha.

Well, unfortunately, I had booked my flight to Lisbon on a different, much smaller airline, which makes you pay for any checked luggage that you bring. I had the forethought though to pay for the suitcases ahead of time, when I booked my ticket months ago. I thought I was all set, as I paid for my suitcases at 23 kilos each. Imagine my horror when I found out that with this particular airline, it doesn't matter how MANY suitcases you pay for... you're still only allowed 23 kilos TOTAL. So, I could pay for 10 suitcases, but still only be allowed 23 kilos TOTAL. Not good... especially knowing that I have enough stuff to reach 23 kilos in EACH suitcase. What was I going to do? I started to freak out... but God is good.

The professor from last week was kind and took one of my very FULL suitcases home with him a few days ago. Yay! BUT... I still had 2 suitcases remaining and I still had to figure out how to get them together below the 23 kilo weight limit. I packed as best I could and went to the airport yesterday morning, in faith that I would be OK. Not really! I got to the airport and the kind airline employee weighed my suitcases and apologized as he told me, "I'm sorry, Miss, but you are 8 kilos over."

Oh no! What do I do? Paying for extra kilos is out of the question with this particular airline because it is SO expensive. I could book myself an extra plane ticket for the amount that they charge for extra kilos. So... my friend and I went through my bags-- thing by thing-- and threw away all items that weren't completely necessary. We then rearranged the bags to come up with the lowest weight combination possible. We weighed the suitcases again... I was still over by 4 kilos!

The only thing left to do was to do what I did not want to do... especially in the summer. My last resort was to WEAR more clothes... yes, to just keep putting on clothes until my suitcase had lost the necessary 8 kilos. It was quite a funny process. Let's just say that by the time I returned my suitcases to the guy at the ticket counter, they were the correct weight. But I looked slightly different! My outfit consisted of 2 shirts, 1 sweatshirt, 1 jacket, 2 pairs of jeans, 1 skirt, a hat, and a pair of high-heeled shoes... all worn at the same time. I think I came up with my own new style... and I actually kind of liked it!

It was quite funny. I guess it's safe to say that I learned a lot about problem-solving... where there's a will, there's always a way! I also learned about laughing at myself and learning to take myself less seriously. I'm pretty sure I looked a bit out of place, as I walked around the airport dressed for winter in the dead of summer, and I may have looked like I had gained 2oo lbs in 10 minutes... but I also had fun trying out my new style, especially knowing that my goofy outfit was saving me hundreds of dollars! =)

blumen

Germany is so cool. Every once in a while, on the side of the roads you'll find big fields with beautiful, colorful flowers and big yellow signs that say blumen. Even with my very limited German, I can figure out that the signs are advertising flowers available for the picking. It's self-serve and on the honor system... you go, pick your flowers, and deposit the money in a little metal box. They even leave little knives for you to cut the flower stalks.

Every time I drive by that field, I want to stop. It's on the way to the airport, so I pass it OFTEN! =) Well, the lady who owns this apartment LOVES flowers, and she and her husband return tomorrow. I thought it would be great if I could pick her some fresh flowers... so this afternoon my friend and I headed out to the blumen field. Oh my word... there were beautiful, bright, colorful gladiolas EVERYWHERE. I found myself just walking through the flowers, taking in the colors... just struck by the beauty of it. It was INCREDIBLY beautiful.

I was just standing there, taking it in, not even really paying attention to my own thoughts... when I realized that there was a passage of Scripture just replaying over and over again in my head--

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do no be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:28-34)

Jesus is so wise...

My agenda has gotten quite long. It's time to close up the program and leave Germany. There's a million little details for me to take care of, not to mention all of the crazy emotions that accompany saying good-bye. I love how Jesus uses the blumen field to speak right into that and tell me the truth. And tonight... I sit here staring at the gladiolas in a vase in the middle of a coffee table and I remember... He's God and He's shown me a million times that He loves me. That's reason enough to let go and trust Him.

life from death

The lady of the house here left me in charge of her plants. Uh oh. Although I would love to be a gardener someday, at this point in my life, I can't say that I am one. But... this lady has about a million plants that she LOVES in her house and she left me to take care of them. There's responsibility for you... ;)

Anyway... there's 4 little potted flowers in the bathroom, and all of them are doing fine... except for the purple one. It's dying. I don't know why... because I water it just as much as the others. Funny thing... the lady here left me a message and instructed me that when a flower dies, I should pull its head off. Huh? So... I noticed that the purple flower was dying, and after some hesitation, I pulled all of the heads off... and was sure that was the end of the little purple flower. Two days ago, I walked into the bathroom to find that the purple flower had BLOOMED again... small blooms, but they were there nevertheless, and the flower has been growing ever since. Yay, I didn't kill it!

Oh, but there's truth here. I have a good friend visiting me this week in Germany, and as I described to her some of what I've felt God doing in me during the past few weeks, she remarked, "you're dying, Bethany." I thought about that, and she's right... I am dying. There's old "stuff" in me that's been sticking around for a long time, threatening to drain the LIFE out of me. How thankful I am that Jesus is relentless in killing that old stuff, teaching me that the old me must die... forcing me to see what He's after, even while I kick and scream and don't cooperate well.

But... the amazing truth is that there's always a death before there's a resurrection. If I'm dying, it's because I'm learning to LIVE. And if the old me is going away, it's so that there's more room for the resurrected Jesus to take His rightful place in my heart and to make me more like HIM. I feel like my flower heads have been pulled off and my little purple blooms are quite small at this point... but I'm grateful. I thank Jesus that He knows me so much better than I do... and even when I don't cooperate well with Him, He still relentlessly yet patiently pursues me. I'm very grateful for what He has done for me.

World Cup FEVER!!

The sights and sounds of sweet VICTORY in Germany...

We've had a BLAST. GO DEUTSCH!!! All the way...!!

re-circling

I remember these verses... 5 years ago, I first found them (or maybe they found me!) and they were like the voice of God speaking to me. Tonight, I feel the same way. He is the Everlasting God. He has taken me places I never thought I'd go, and He's done things in my heart that are only a miracle of His grace. Tonight, I'm remembering...

"There is no one like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help,

through the skies in His majesty.

The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

And He thrust out the enemy before you and said, Destroy.

So Israel lived in safety, Jacob lived alone, in a land of grain and wine,

whose heavens drop down dew.

Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD,

the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph!

Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their backs."

~Deuteronomy 33:26-29