Le Jour Vingt-Huit (Day 28)

Garrett bought everyone a prize. Mine was a snuggle buddy
named MUFFIN!! 

This was it. At 3:00 a.m., after sleeping for an hour and a half, Garrett came and picked up all my bags for me (thank the LORD!) and loaded them onto my coach. After having a throw-away party the night before, my bag weighed only 48 pounds…with two bottles of wine in it too! I was impressed. We loaded the coach half out of it (which was like double for me), and we were off to Zurich airport, about an hour away. I felt like a rag doll, and I think I might have taken a little too much of my emergency medicine without eating enough with it. At 4:30, whenever we finally met up with the whole group, Garrett, Landon, Brady, and Amber grabbed all my stuff, organized and knew where literally every item I owned was, and went into caretaker/navigator/brother/sister/mom/dad mode. I don’t know what one would exactly call it, but I don’t think I understood how long this day was about to be and how I literally would not have survived if it weren’t for these people… no exaggeration.

Our flights were split into two groups: early flight and late flight. Kelly, Drew, and Allison were on the early flight. As soon as we arrived and I sat down, we had to say goodbye to them. No time for tears or much hugs; it was over, and we were really going home…

I felt terrible and extremely out of it. My people took turns sitting with me, wheeling my luggage, and taking care of checking my bag in. Most of the day was a blur, but I do remember the worst part: we were waiting to board our one-hour flight to London from Zurich, and we had about a 3-hour delay. Most of that time went toward going through security and customs, but the rest was dedicated to merely sitting in the most uncomfortable chairs and just waiting. Sitting between Brady and Garrett and across from Amber, I couldn’t get comfortable, I was hurting, I was EXHAUSTED, and just miserable. I’ve been trying this whole time to have a good attitude toward all of this, knowing the Lord is sovereign, that this is a good gift from Him, that He will be glorified, and that this was all in His perfect plan, but in this moment, I was broken…and on meds. I remember slouched down in my seat with my eyes closed, trying to get a baby nap in, but the waterworks came before I could stop them. Everyone was sprawled all around our seating area dead asleep, but these three angels stayed awake with me as I silently cried. They played with my hair, wiped my tears, bought me water to drink, and encouraged me with words that I know came straight from Heaven. Words cannot describe what this meant to me.

I slept the entire plane ride, and the rest of the day was filled with more walking, exhaustion, bonding, and my family taking care of me. They basically did everything for me except actually pick me up and carry me like a baby, which I wouldn’t have minded at this point! Just kidding, they were doing way more than even necessary, and I was extremely grateful and blessed. I told all of them they will make great moms and dads one day, and I was trying my hardest to be as much of an encouragement as possible. Brady told me I had no say-so, and that all he asks is that I be an easy patient as they take care of me, as in, just let them do it…because they WANT to. I can do that…

The 9-hour flight to Houston was…a little rough. During take off, we went through a major storm, and the turbulence was incredibly bad, which meant my whole body was being shaken, causing my shoulder to move and the bones to glide against one another quite painfully. There was nothing any of us could do about it. Sitting beside Sydney, Amber, and Brady, all they could do was pray, rub my hands and wipe my tears as I cried like a baby. I gave up being strong at that point; that was the most pain I think I’ve ever endured in my entire life, HOLY COW!

I slept almost the entire plane ride, and everyone was so incredibly helpful and thoughtful, it was unreal: the flight attendants, my friends, the random people sitting behind me, the Macs, and the rest of the students. My family fixed me an excellent pillow and blanket arrangement that helped secure me in my seat, which felt a million times better!

By the end of the plane ride, I felt much better and rested. Garrett had eventually moved back to sit with us, so it was nice to have my little family all together! Speaking of family, it was now time to meet ours, and I’ll admit, I was a little apprehensive. It was so much change to endure at once: I am now in Texas after being in 7 other countries for the last month, the people I call family and who know exactly how to take care for me are all about to leave me as we go our separate ways, and the left side of me is crushed. Oh yeah, and I’m on meds that already make me feel…strange.

Seeing my parents for the first time, everything said above hit me, and my reaction wasn’t quite what they had expected from me. They also didn’t know my injury was as bad as it was, so needless to say, we were all a bit thrown off. It was now time to say all of our goodbyes, and the waterworks came again. These people mean the world to me, and I couldn’t have imagined doing this trip without them. I am so blessed by their endless, selfless friendship, and I am inspired by their obedience, their ability to love others no matter what, and the love displayed for each other. I am stronger because of their encouragement, humbled by their maturity, and blessed by the level of confidence in their faith and who they are as people. Although we said our goodbyes, our little family will reunite again this fall, for we are all Aggies! Many game/crepe nights to come and friendships to willingly nurture! Thank you guys for everything you have done. Thoughts and prayers about/for you are hourly, and I will be forever thankful to have met you. You have meant more than you will ever know!

What a trip this was. I had been dreaming about going to Europe for YEARS, and I did it…I really did it!! EEEK! I saw so much and was CAPTIVATED by so many sights and scenes. The Lord displayed his brilliance in London, his strength in Paris, his comfort in Avignon, his beauty in Nice, his elegance in Italy, his glory in Austria, his delight in Germany, and his majesty and love in Switzerland.

During this trip, I delighted in simply BEING. I don’t appreciate the history, the museums, the architecture, or the typical touristic things. I find rest and am inspired by the culture, the people, the scenery, and the awe factor of the Lord’s majesty and grace. I appreciate the cultural differences and enjoyed further discovering why people are the way they are. My favorite part was talking to locals and learning about their likes, their life, what they are passionate about, and what motivates them. My only regret was not talking to enough people and becoming pen-pals: a failure to give people I talked to my name and e-mail.

Not only was I CAPTIVATED by scenery, but I was particularly CAPTIVATED by watching the gospel play out through other people on a daily basis. I watched the people I was soon to call family love, accept, and forgive other people (including me) no matter what the circumstance, and it was beautiful, reminding me of the Lord’s faithfulness, grace, and CONSISTENT love, which is a love that will NEVER expire. Moments, people, and sights on this trip all contributed to helping me grow to be the woman I so prayerfully desire to be: a CAPTIVATING woman.

Thanks for keeping up with my blog during my trip! I am going to continue keeping up with it, though maybe not on a daily basis. I have genuinely enjoyed writing about my adventures, and it has re-sparked my love of writing. Feel free to continue following me! It would be fun to read if every day of my life was as adventure-filled as my trip, but I will try to keep it entertaining. Maybe one day my life WILL be consistently adventure-filled; that IS what I’ve always prayed for…