Meet my girls...

Time is a strange thing, ya know? One thing from ten years ago might seem like it happened yesterday whereas you're convinced that the thing that happened yesterday was ten years ago. So far India appears to be this way. Though I arrived here just two-and-a-half weeks ago, it seems like its been an eternity. But at the same time, I feel like I was just in China spending time with the people and children I love so much. And with its contorted sense of time (where 5 minutes could mean 5 hours or even 5 days later), India's feeling of time doesn't get any better (yes I know you'd think that it would be perfect for me, but even I'm waiting on people all the time here). So as I'm 19 days in, I find myself trying to figure out exactly what I've been doing with my time...

Since my arrival, I kind of hit-the-ground-running. The plan was for me to take over running a home for the school-aged girls that SCH recently opened in November. So basically I'm overseeing 12 girls (ages 4 to 13), two nannies, and a nurse who all live on the floor below me. So when I got here, the lady who helped open it immediately went into training mode and attempting to teach me everything that could possibly help me survive living in a place of such wonderful love and madness :) So when she left last Sunday, I had to be prepared to take on all the responsibilities of being a parent. Every day brings on new surprises with new challenges, and I often find myself trying to think through a million different things at one time, but it's moments when I can sit down and play with them and see that they know they're loved, that makes it all worth while.

So what's been consuming all my time??

Well...

there's...

Hannah

Alesa

Christine

Phoebe

Genevieve

Esther

Rachel

Victoria

Nora

Stacy

Honor

and Zinnia

Aren't they beautiful?

Each one is so special, and each one is precious, and each one is a mess all her own. Daily, they make me laugh and smile, and (almost always) daily, they make me mad and frustrated as we learn together what it really means to be a family. Our family on most days requires a little extra grace and a little extra forgiveness, but let's be honest, how could we not with 16 girls comprising it?

In all honesty this hasn't been the easiest transition for me. I've struggled finding my purpose in the midst of what sometimes seems like chaos. I'm having to figure out how to be a friend to these girls but yet gain respect and maintain authority in their eyes. And I'm learning quickly how desperately I must seek the Lord and be attentive to His purpose in my life. But above all, I'm learning what Paul meant in 1 Corinthians 3:23 when he said, "You are of Christ" and how nearly impossible it is to be Christ 24/7.

It's hard being Christ. It's hard loving and caring and disciplining all at the same time while trying to find joy and maintain patience in the midst of it all. How does Jesus do it with me? How would He lead these girls? Most days I don't have a clue but can only be thankful that by His grace and mercy, He does. Charles Spurgeon says in his January 12th entry of Morning & Evening:

Work practically to show the world that you are the servant, the friend, the bride of Jesus...When the cause of God invites you, give yourself to it; when someone needs something from you, give your goods and yourself away, for you are of Christ. Never belie your profession. Always be one of those whose manners are Christian, whose speech is like the Nazarene, whose conduct and conversation are so redolent of heaven, that all who see you may know that you are the Savior's, recognizing in you His features of love and countenance of holiness. "I am a Roman!" was proof of integrity in ages past, far more, then, let it be your proof of holiness, "I am of Christ!"

So daily I'm learning to reflect more of Christ in my words and actions, and daily, I find myself on my knees praying that as I become more and more broken, I will become more and more like Christ as I'm rebuilt and restored. It's an exhausting thing- brokenness, but I'm trusting in the One Who was broken for me that He intends to see me through to the end.

So I ask that today you would pray for India, that you would pour out your heart with me for these girls, that you would ask their Father to love on them and teach them to love themselves and others. I ask that you would pray for me, that I would learn to be Christ in word and deed and that I would find truly that "The joy of the Lord is my strength" (Nehemiah 8:10).

And for all of us, I pray that today will be a day when we find our purpose. May it be a day that we recognize that ultimately, our calling is to be "of Christ" and to be ones "whose conduct and conversation are so redolent of heaven, that all who see [us] may know that [we] are the Savior's." May we learn to truly love and truly give ourselves away to the people and causes that need us the most. And ultimately, may we be broken and restored looking so much like Christ that we are mistaken for Him...