Captured

My heart is bursting with love for my 10 girls that God has entrusted me with for this short time in life. Typically I rather ball sports and hang out with boys, it is a lot less dramatic and complicated but God has worked these little girls into my heart so deeply,  this past weekend in Muskoka was like a plunge deeper into this realization.

It was their first time being away from home for three nights, first time up north and first time to experience a lot of the things we did while we were there. Yet their favorite time was chilling in their cabin together, laughing, dancing, telling ghost stories and screaming their heads off. They drove me nuts with their constant questions of what was next and kept me up all night with one thing or another. One night I woke up a 4:30 to see one of the sitting on the edge of my bed, we had a conversation that went along the lines of her being cold and telling me that she had a blanket as she pulled mine off of me. I went to check the time and upon coming back found her curled up in my blanket sound asleep on my bed. When morning came she shockingly asked me why she was in my bed as she did not remember anything from the previous night.

We learned how to cross country ski, went snow shoeing exploring and roller skating, wall climbing and tubing. They complained a lot due to lack of sleep and tested my patience greatly, there were times when I never wanted to hear my name again as it seemed there was not a minute when someone was not calling it. But then there where those other moments, moment that captured every part of my heart. Of having a little girl feeling sick cuddling with me and I give her my sweater to keep her warm and she looks up into my eyes and says “I love you Jello”, when later she asks me to cuddle with her while the others get ready for bed and the next day she again curls up in my arms and shares difficult aspects of her life with me accompanied with questions about who God is and how He views her.

Moments like playing Sella Ella Olla in the bathroom till 1:30 a.m because it is the last night and they don’t want to sleep, one of the waking up at 7 a.m and running around the cabin waking everyone else by singing “Do you want to build a snowman” at the top of her lungs. These girls are amazing, are learning so much and growing up far too quickly. Their love for each other is genuine and humorous at times. I love each of the dearly and am so thankful that I get to be a part of their lives and to be challenged and taught by them daily. It is an honor to be their leader that they look up to and a very high responsibility. I thank God for each of them and pray that they would each receive Jesus into their live personally and continue to increase and grow in faith if they already have.