Too tired to rest...

 

I apologize for the lack of posts this month.  As I said in January, turns out that having two jobs can be time consuming.  With a summer full of guest groups, and no guest coordinator, that role has fallen to me this month.  Thankfully this week someone did arrive to help us out over the summer months, but as she is unfamiliar with Oaxaca, I continue to be involved with groups as I train her.

Last night I was exhausted.  One of the visitors asked why I was so tired, and I didn't know where to begin.  I decided it would be best to cancel my evening commitments and go home, but once I was there I realized it was one of those occasions when I was too tired to rest.

Some people might know exactly what I'm talking about, and others might think that doesn't make sense.  But every so often, I am so extremely tired that I can't stop moving.  So, last night after an attempt to sit down and be still, I got back up and began to clean my apartment.

I was beating the rugs outside on the porch when one of the cooks walked by.  I said hello, shared what was going on, and she said she understood completely.  She said that there are some nights she cries herself to sleep because she is just so tired but sleep does not come.

As I mentioned before, I am thankful that help has come.  But I think I am not alone in my weariness here at the children's home - many people are working very hard and feeling spread pretty thin sometimes.  We would greatly appreciate your prayerful support.  Prayer for renewed strength each day, and prayer that more workers would come to the harvest field.

Mother's Day

Living at a children's home, Mother's Day feels kind of tricky.  Today I watched as children with mothers in prison, children with mothers who abandoned their families, and children with mothers who are terminally ill presented nice poems and songs for Mother's Day.  They did a good job, and the words were very nice, but I was conflicted inside, trying to understand what all this might mean for them.


Then came the clincher.  I was giving the closing announcements, and I asked if anyone would like to finish our time with a prayer.  A little ten-year-old boy came up to the microphone and prayed a profound Mother's Day prayer.  Among other things, he prayed that the mothers would have wisdom and strength and nourishment.  What touched me so was that his own mother died two years ago.

Six months after her passing, his father and older brother realized they couldn't take care of him any more, and brought him to the children's home.  And so this little man held my heart in his hands today when he thanked God for all the mothers that could be here with their children and and he broke it when he prayed that the children there would respect their mothers because they deserve respect during their time here on earth.  With a faltering voice, I thanked him, wished everyone a good day and turned around to hide my tears.

Though Mother's Day in a children's home can be complicated, the blessing of today was remembering that God has provided a home for these children and people to care for and love them.  The children presented flowers to their mothers (those who are children of missionaries here), to their housemothers, to the cooks, to the director of the home, and even I received a flower this morning - my first Mother's Day gift ;).  Many of us may not be near our mothers on the day nations around the world celebrate them, but God is still good and faithful to provide.

  God is good; his love endures forever!

2 Chronicles 7:3