The other night I was watching the kids before they went to bed. We usually put the ones that don’t have homework to bed around 8:30, and let the ones that are still doing theirs stay up until 9:00. That night all of the boys were done with their homework by 8:30 but one. I put the seven to bed, prayed with them and waited for Jing to be done.
When he finally finished, I walked him to his room, hugged him, and prayed with him. After I said amen Han, one of the other boys, asked me, “why do you like to pray so much?" I asked him if he liked praying, and he told me that when he’s sad or upset he prays and God helps him feel better. I told him that I pray when I’m happy or sad. And that I pray for the people that I love. He just responded with, “ahhhh”. He seemed surprised by that.
There have been times when I put them to bed without praying for them. I’ll tell them I love them and close the door but, you wanna guess what I think about the rest of the night? The fact that I didn’t. I feel guilty. I worry that I could miss out on something big if I don’t. I know that prayer is powerful and I want to make sure that I cover the kids in it.
Thanksgiving is today and I’m just feeling extra thankful for every one of them. They’re all so different, yet the same in the fact that they just crave love. They want the kind of love that they don’t know how to give; the kind of love that we all crave. I’m thankful that God is answering that prayer for them.
We had a really good Thanksgiving! I think that every year feels a little less lonely and a little homier. Lil and I made pumpkin pie yesterday and all of us were in the kitchen cooking today. Honestly, this was my first year really cooking for the meal. I think it made it that much more enjoyable. We all sat down together and talked about how thankful we were to be able to eat American food. We laughed at how much more we appreciated everything because of the distance between us and normal.
I miss the cold and family. I miss what was but isn’t anymore. I miss the old. I miss all of the things that we used to do, but I’m so thankful for the new and everything that God gives me. I’m thankful that even though there’s so much different there’s still so much that's the same.
Thanksgiving always feels a little different when you’re not in a country that celebrates it, but that doesn’t make it a bad thing. It's exciting to see the ways that God provides in such unique, special ways.
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