God's Paintings
I love evening skies. Any skies really. And I love that it's summer now so I have time to look up long enough to appreciate them. Oh yes, and it helps that the sun stays out longer than 4:30.
A Mini Reunion
This year will be our 10 year high school reunion. TEN YEARS. Where the heck did all that time go? While a few of us live relatively close, busy lives can often get in the way, and we don't get to see one another nearly often enough. With Ashley swinging by for Memorial Day, we had a little get together. Mexican, a return to Dairy Queen, a little cruising in the mini van for old time's sake, and an impromptu drop to visit the old boss. Memories.
The Beginning of Summer Pool Dates
If you can't find me, chances are we are at the pool, catching some sun rays. I'm too chicken to get very far in yet, but I'm loving the fact that my kids are all old enough to play without the need for me to be in the water every second. It's joyous! Oh and we love it when dad can swing by and enjoy it with us!
Grill outs with good friends
The first, but not the last of grill outs, fires, hot tub nights, 2 on 2 basketball games, and the like. Hellooooo summer!
Mini dates with my little
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------------------This means I'm going to switch gears, mmmkay? :)
This past week, I was able to be part of something pretty big. Epic in fact. Dan and I had the opportunity to work at Royal Family Kids Camp which is a camp supporting foster kids who have been neglected or abused. Dan and I have always felt like God was calling us towards the ministry of foster kids, but up until this camp, we have always felt that we should wait until our kids were a little older. When this opportunity came to us, we knew it was God telling us it was our chance to be a part of this a lot sooner. We knew it would be hard, that we would want to take them all home, but the pros outweighed the cons and so there we were.
I'll be honest. It's been at least 12 years since I've participated in a serve project that was anything like this. Since then, I've somewhat been burned by the church, and by the church, I mean the people who belong to it. I'm not going to get into details, but let's just say that I have a lot of unhealed wounds, and I'm slowly trying to patch them back up.
Naturally, I was a little nervous about being part of a mission project with people who were predominantly from another church family. I knew a handful of people and only few of those "well". I didn't want it to feel like we were outsiders, and I prayed that we would be able to do this job with a unified group.
I was beyond amazed at how much of a well oiled machine the week actually was. More than once I was asked if I had known other team members before camp stuff began, and 9 times out of 10 it was a NO. I feel so grateful to be a part of a project that is changing lives, planting seeds, and loving up children who deserve every moment of it.
It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do letting those kids go back, and I wasn't even a guide. I left feeling so so many emotions, and they were all polar opposites. On one hand I felt blessed, purposeful, inspired, motivated, and thankful, but on the other hand, also kind of empty, sad, terrified, and anxious. Whatever the feelings, I know I was exactly where I was supposed to be, and as painful as it was to say goodbye, I would do it all over again in a heart beat.
The bonus of this week? All the new friends I've made. Very grateful for that!! They may not be so grateful that I kept them awake all night with my clever wit and hilarious jokes, but I know they love me. I just know it.
Rachel sent us a quote that pretty much sums it up:
“...In its original Latin form, sacrifice means to make sacred or to make holy. I wholeheartedly believe that when we are fully engaged in parenting, regardless of how imperfect, vulnerable, and messy it is, we are creating something sacred.”
― Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
Happy Sunday!
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