I'm home now from a 10-day Pilgrimage/adventure/getaway with Nick to Chartres and Paris, France. (Gratitude and shout out to Natalie for her beautiful blog last week, Embrace Your Journey to Inner Light.) This trip had everything! It was a culmination of a year of planning and preparing, so I was a bit surprised when I arrived and wondered, "What am I doing here?"

My vision for this trip was to arrive at Chartres Cathedral where one of the world's largest, oldest, and most renowned labyrinths lies, be completely inspired and filled with joy, and knowing EXACTLY why I was there. But guess what...

I was a mess.

I was so tired. It was cold and rainy and there was construction and I couldn't walk around the space and I didn't know how to get in or where to get in and the door was weird and I don't speak French and it just looked like every other cathedral I've been in and WHAT AM I DOING HERE?

I almost felt panicked! My heart and my throat burned like they were breaking open and I just...