Selfishness

So, I've spent the past couple days with three adorable kiddos. Drummerboy, 8, Smartgirl, 7, and Shygirl, 5. And, I learned a great deal over the past couple days. I find it amazing how God does that. I was supposed to be there for the kids, and in the midst of it all, God blessed me. Go figure.

First off, hats off to all you parents! I haven't been responsible for 3 kids for 3 days like that in YEARS. And, let me state upfront, these are GOOD kids. Compared to what I see at school each day, it was refreshing to be around some healthy children in a healthy home. God knew I needed that because at school I seem to see mostly bad homelives, not good ones. SingingMom and her husband, Worshipleaderguy, have done an incredible job raising these kids. I was impressed by what I saw these weekend. Not only do they raise 3 kids, but SingingMom homeschools them as well! Talk about 2 full-time jobs without pay! Wowzers!

And, to be honest, I only have kids at school from 8am-3pm. And even then I get 40 minutes off for lunch and 40 minutes planning period. So, even then, out of all the hours in a week, I'm barely with kids. I don't bathe, (not that I did this weekend, they were self sufficient, PRAISE GOD!), clothe, feed, or remain as their caregiver 24/7. In the past 3 days, I've learned what it means to truly work hard and be a servant.

Now, I really don't mean to sound as if the past 3 days were bad. In actuality, it was the coolest thing I've experienced since Camp last Summer. I was reminded, once again, of how self focused I have become. I'm used to coming home, serving myself dinner, relaxing on my couch (well, right now doing IEP's, but still...), going to bed at 9:30-ish, getting up at 6, eating breakfast for me, going to work all day, tutoring, and right back into "all about me" time. I don't have to serve someone else dinner, or think about what they would like to watch on TV, or put anyone else to bed. This weekend was fun because I got to serve these kids. I worked hard, but it was a good thing. I'm wiped now, but it was really cool to be feeding them, watching movies with them, playing games with them, praying with them, reading with them, and putting them to bed. I fed them before me, and it felt good. I took their needs into consideration before mine. It was a very good lesson for me to be reminded what a servant is all about.

Granted, this doesn't change my world drastically right now. It's not as if I'm going to head out and have kids tomorrow. (duh) But, it did remind me of what a servant's heart truly is and what it takes to truly be a servant. And, what kind of grace it takes to be a parent. (Hats off to each and every one of you!)

Finally, I have decided I need a dog of my own. This family I was with this weekend has a dog named Rocko, and he's a cool little puppy. Granted, he's ALL PUPPY, so it was sort of like having a fourth kid around, but I found myself having a GREAT time with him. I fell in love with him. I tried to bring him home, but it didn't work. :-) But, they said I could puppy sit and be with the kids again sometime.

That right there is priceless to me...

Awesome stuff.

Now I need to do IEP's...where did the weekend go?

Later!