Upheaval & Quiet

I had to add the word “quiet” to the word “upheaval”, which was the first word to come to my mind when I think back over the week.

France has been in the news and, as is frequently the case when France makes news abroad… it’s because of social upheaval… this time, farmers were the ones blocking traffic circles, highways and city centers.

That being said… there were wonderful quiet moments to be found away from the hullabaloo!

Let’s begin with the difficult and move our way to the good…

French Farmers

From the smallest rural villages to the most recognizable areas of the capital… French farmers were like a stirred up hornets’ nest.

For weeks, things have been brewing… as is seen in community after community, where municipal signage at the entrance to the municipality was inverted. It was a peaceful (yet persistant) way for farmers to begin to manifest their discontent. It wasn’t enough though.

Things culminated this week when some thousand or more tractors descended on Paris… blocking the inner ring-road (the périphérique), the park near the Petit Palais, and 6-7 of the highways leading into the capital. The disturbance cannot be understated… it was massive.

Much of agriculture is a thankless profession… long hard days, with increasing costs due to European regulations and environmental pressures, and diminishing revenues because of taxes, a low economy and foreign imports which aren’t subject to some of the same regulations as French farmers.

I support them, but I must admit, I am thankful that none of my road-travel was seriously impeded by the demonstrations.

Moments of Calm

Another of the things I’m thankful for, are the quiet moments that the Lord has allowed during my trips to & from work, where I’ve stopped to pray in various communities.

Sometimes it’s in the morning & at other times it’s on the way home at night. Not only is it a way to break up the drive get out of the ‘rat race’ for a few minutes… but it also brings peace to my spirit and brings prayer to the heart of communities.

Timo Leads Bible Study

We had Bible Study at home this past Wednesday and Mr. Timo brought the message… (brought the challenge – he’s good like that!). I don’t know where this kid came from, but we were some proud of the job he did.

I was shocked… pleasantly so. It was deep and he let the Word speak (if you can see the number of post-its in his Bible).