Paris can wait.

Ten years ago you planned a trip to Europe, but it got postponed indefinitely because you could barely afford the Olive Garden, much less an international vacation. Nine years ago you received an all-expenses-paid trip to Paris, but you exchanged it for somewhere much more exotic because of course you'll make it to Paris eventually. Paris can wait. Seven years ago you intended to make that trip to Europe but it didn't happen because it was a road trip... on North American roads. After that you took an extended sabbatical from pretending you were going to Paris.

One day you will go to Paris. You will review your high school French. You will pose in front of the Eiffel Tower. You will smile at Mona Lisa. One morning, a few weeks after returning home from your trip, something about the air will remind you of Paris, and you will be in the mood to take a stroll outside. "Come on Roscoe, let's go for a walk!" you will propose to your roommate, who will be a canine. At the word "walk," Roscoe will excitedly jump up and run over to the door while you go grab the leash. But as you glance in the mirror on your way out the door, you will realize your mood requires a wide-brimmed hat. Luckily you will own one of those, so you will put it on, but then your whole outfit will be off. "Wait a minute, Roscoe, I have to change," you will say, and you will return in ten minutes looking très chic. Then you will feel bad for plain old Roscoe, so you will find a tiny scarf and wrap it around his collar. You will change Roscoe's name to Pepin. Then you will finally be ready. You will lock the door behind you and make it as far as the front lawn before noticing that your garden desperately needs more roses. And the weather will be just perfect for gardening. But your outfit will not be appropriate for gardening at all. "Lemme just change again real quick..." you will say, turning back toward the front door. Through all this, Pepin will just look at you and smile. Because he will love you. And love is patient. Just like Paris.

 

And in case you thought Paris + Bible was a one-hit wonder...

 

 

...it seems the Eiffel Tower is the Lord's new mascot. Maybe next Christmas or Easter, He will hire me to dress up in an Eiffel Tower costume and dance around in front of the church waving a sign about Jesus. That seems like a good job for me.