family.

This weekend has surely been what I have needed. For those of you who know me you know that I am basically best friends with my aunt and uncle! And they live in Virginia...where I was this weekend. They have the CUTEST little children Donovan (5) and Kyla (1) . These children, I call them my own, are what bring joy to me when I need to be happy again. They are just both full of energy and spunk and both have minds of their own. Donovan this weekend, I noticed, although very cute, needs some help when it comes to the listening department. I know, I know, all ya'll who read my blog constantly are SO tired of hearing about how I tie everything I talk about to God, but I'm sorry it's part of who I am and who I am is a child of God and strive to be like Him more and more everyday. So watching Donovan and listening to what he's been told and seeing him not act upon it I was noticing how annoyed and how angry I was getting, not completely at him because he was not listening but I was becoming frustrated in myself because i was afraid that I was not relying the message of what exactly I wanted him to do, correctly. This must be how God feels. Having to repeat himself over and over again, and trying to get us to listen the first time because He knows the consequences if we do not follow through and the last thing He, God the father, wants to do is have to make our lives more difficult then it actually has to be.
And then there is Kyla, who is the happiest baby I have ever seen in my life. She did not cry unless she had woken from her nap, or she fell down, as all babies do. But other than that we played games, as all babies do...peek-a-boo, we sang songs but most importantly we read Goodnight Moon! (Yes mom, you're favorite book) For the first time I realized why my mother loves this book so much. It's like a sentimental moment between you and whoever you are reading it with. With a calming voice, as my mother once did, I read this book to my baby cousin..."goodnight chair, goodnight mush, goodnight little old lady whispering hush..." and as I read that line, I looked into the big eyes of my baby cousin and she smiled as if she knew what was being read to her and she thought that I was the old lady whispering hush. As crazy as that sounds it was at that moment that I realized how precious and how meaningful this little baby that I do not see often means the world to me, and that she is more than just my "baby cousin" to me, she is like a little person that I would do anything for. She is like a little person that I will make time to go out of my way to see and make sure that I am up to date on the happenings of her life. It was at that moment that I realized that this girl was never going to have me out of her life. For the first time I realized that there are so many kids out there just like her that just want someone to love them because no one wants to love them, and it was at this moment that I realized I wanted to be that person to love those children for the rest of my life. YOUTH MINISTRY.

So tomorrow I head back to school, and begin to take in the information that will allow me to love the children that God has planted in my life as well as being able to shed the knowledge of Christ to them as well.

One love,
a.

ps. happy birthday jordan : )