On this beautiful second Sunday of Easter I guided my parents to the airport and we said our goodbyes. We managed to make it despite the sudden disappearance of the bus stop and bus they came in on! Apparently it wasn’t profitable enough, so we had to take the tram into town to catch another bus. Talk about bad timing. It was also bad timing that they weren’t able to go to Basel Christian Fellowship with me at all during their stay, but it was good timing that I was able to get to church right after dropping them off. It’s been a beautiful day of rest and reflection giving me a much needed pause between two weeks of nonstop family fun and the beginning of an intense two months of work at the Schola, this time with my eye on the auditions on June. Folks, my time in Switzerland has officially past the half-way mark.
I’ve jotted down the activities of the trip and will type them up soon, but for now I have some Sunday reflections for you. The great new easy way to upload pictures turns out to be unworkable, so it will once again take me some time to sort and upload pictures.
Spring happened while Mom and Dad were visiting. It always seems to surprise me, but Basel changed a great deal in the short six days we were in France. It turns out a lot of the vines are Wisteria, the bushes Lilac, and the trees some sort of blossoming fruit (probably ornamental). Although I love the natural landscapes the best, the city has some beautiful flower patches as well. After church a few of us had a picnic in the park and enjoyed the sunny, warm (hot!) weather and the spring flowers. We met the most unlikely of creatures. Can you guess?
Let to right we have Amanda and her husband Nathan, Catharine, and Avron (a new lady from England). If you remember, Catharine is my twin, as you can see in this next picture. It might not be precise, but you can see how people would get us mixed up when they see us separately.
Speaking of church, I can’t help but comment on it. Skip this paragraph if my church comments bore you. I found it interesting that the chap who lead the service the first time I visited lead again today and not only did we sing the same style of hymns, but some of the exact same ones. Alas, as much as I love his accent, I cannot say so much for his hymn choice. I must confess that I couldn’t suppress my giggles and one hymn gave me a case so bad I had to hide my face in my hymnal. But Schlocky music can hide a great hymn, and I noticed the words to one hymn that I normally space off to because I dislike the tune. I Need Thee Every Hour is simple, but powerfully true. For a sample: “I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby; Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh. I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain; Come quickly and abide, or life is in vain.” It made me sad to sing At the Name of Jesus to such a strange tune when I adore the “right” one. However, I see that even www.cyberhymnal.org doesn’t have the tune I know and I can’t remember which of the alternate tunes we sang it to. When Mom gets a minute she can look up the tune name that we know . . . Whatever the music, one verse stuck out to me this time. I suppose it’s quite obvious, but I never noticed it before: “Humbled for a season, to receive a name from the lips of sinners unto whom He came . . .” In the Old Testament the name of Yahweh was so holy the Jewish people were forbidden to speak it. The idea that the LORD would take on a name that would be spoken by sinners really carries some weight. It humbles God that we even speak to Him by name! Sometimes I feel that to keep all the aspects of God’s character in perspective we water things down to mild middle ground rather than pushing deeper into understanding those aspects that appear contradictory: awesome God and loving Father, perfect judge and merciful savior, hard master and gentle servant, and on and on.
Having checked that both of Mom and Dad’s flights took off on time I assume that they’re safely on their way or I would have heard from them by now. I have many lovely adventures and great pictures to share with you but that work will start tomorrow.
Just to whet your appetite . . .
Here are the tourists . . .
being tourists. (Just to embarrass my dad)
Where could this be and who is that angel?
Why, a princess in the fairy woods near her castle, of course!
Can you guess what’s strange in this picture?
Submit your entry in a comment along with how long it took you to notice. Winner gets a grand prize of his or her choice costing no more than a hug and a kiss deliverable at the sole convenience (and discretion) of the grantor.
Much love,
Janet
