Recently I read about the latest affliction hitting Japanese tourists visiting the City of Light. Doctors have dubbed this psychological condition “the Paris Syndrome”. It was first reported in a medical journal in 2004. Each year it affects about a dozen people. To date in 2006, the Japanese embassy in Paris has had to repatriate at least four of its citizens suffering from this malady.

What is the Paris Syndrome? Specifically, it is the psychological manifestation of disappointment when the idealized expectation of Parisian beauty and grace meets the reality of urban unruliness, rudeness and dirt. The Japanese have idealized Paris as a “dream city”, embodying all that is beautiful, elegant and lovely. When confronted by street peddlers, crowded restaurants, cranky clerks and other grimy realties of life in a city of millions, the beautiful dream becomes a bit tarnished.

We all suffer the Paris Syndrome to some extent (though generally not directly related to the metropolis itself). We experience disillusion when our expectations of life meet with its realities. The disappointment may come from a job, a relationship or a new pair of shoes. We are daily bombarded with ads and images implying that the next thing we acquire will be the key to securing the happiness that heretofore had eluded us. And we believe. And when our shiny new car gets a dent, or a friend forgets a date or a business deal falls through, we are hurt. And then we begin the search again- for the one thing or person that will not disappoint.

Now, I have some good news, and some bad news.

First the bad news. Nothing in this world is perfect. Despite what you see on TV or read in magazine or hear on your iPod, this world is not perfection. Reality (your reality and my reality) is that we live in a broken world. One where friends disappoint, bodies get sick, cars rust, toys break and sneakers go out of style. T’was always thus and thus it shall ever be. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot good and happy stuff in the mix here as well—crisp fall days, the smell of warm chocolate chip cookies, the satisfaction in a task well done, a hug from a child, hearing the words, “I love you”. But there will always be some sorrowful disappointment marring the situation. That’s the bummer of it all.

Here’s the good news. There is more to life that what we see around us. This is an eternal truth that lives in each of us—some of us deep down; bubbling up to the surface in others. Have you ever walked through a canopy of trees and remarked on the dappled light shining through? What about all the millions of stars you see on a dark, clear night? Has a tiny baby ever curled her tiny fingers over your larger one? Isn’t this amazing? This is God.

I believe in God, a big God. God who created the universe: the light and the trees and the stars and the babies. God who made sound and then gave man an incredible curiosity for it and the accompanying creativity to make music. God who is diverse enough in his creation to make slugs and peacocks. God who is involved enough in my life to give me freckles and a sense of humor while giving another person a strong heart and arms long enough to make a slam-dunk (something definitely not in the cards for me).

Well, how does this all fit together? The disappointment of everyday life (the Paris Syndrome) and this super-duper God? The connection is Hope. God is not oblivious to the grit and grime of our day-to-day lives, the hurt and fear and disappointment. Not at all. He sees it all and it bums Him out. This is not what He wants for us. He wants happiness, satisfaction and fullness. Reality sucks because of the choices we make, not because a fickle God is trying to zap us. If this were a theology lesson we would now go into a long explanation of the Fallen Word, Redemption, Resurrection and Reconciliation. That’s not my purpose here. To sum it up, what we see around us is normal, though not necessarily right.

So leave with this: Big God is out there and He has hope for you. That’s the Good News.