More Than Many Sparrows: May 2007

Here they are -- Long over-due pictures of Paris! So many highlights, leaving us with an unforgettable Spring Break. And surprising moments of grace.

Jamie and I were to meet up on Saturday afternoon, but in the train en route to the Gare de l’Est, I got a call from my friend Bénédicte with whom we would be staying. Jamie’s flight had been delayed. It would be Monday before he could get to Paris. A calm flooded my heart which quieted any anxiety or disappointment I could have experienced. I knew for whatever reason, this was meant to happen, and that the intervening two days would be full of divine moments.

What followed was a rich weekend reconnecting with one of my best friends from college, Bénédicte, her husband Alexis, and their then three month old Rémi. There is something about a woman’s journey which makes reconnecting like burrowing in rich, dark soil. Hidden seeds of relationship germinate, spring up, with every conversation. Our first hug melted away the years. It had been almost three since I had last seen her, at her wedding in Limoges. The next two days set the tone of interacting with her and her life, feeding our souls, reminiscing, and encouraging me as I anticipated Jamie’s arrival.

Sunday evening I went alone into Paris for a classical concert which Jamie and I had planned on going to. I did not want to pass up the opportunity. A small gothic church near Notre Dame provided the back-drop to a piano-violin concert that was breathtaking. Afterwards I wandered the tiny back streets of the Latin Quarter, soaking in the feeling of the city.

And early Monday afternoon, picnic packed and ready, I went to the Gare du Nord to pick up Jamie! Amazingly we found each other – not in front of the main doors as we had planned, but a side entrance. Intuitively we had both chosen the same entrance. Jamie didn’t see me and his back was turned to me when I came up behind him and put my arms around him. It was a sweet reunion, and we then went to the Tour Eiffel to enjoy a picnic in the Champs de Mars …

The next few days were a whirlwind of activity and memories, too many to recount! So I'll leave you with an array of pictures to capture impressions of our time together.