Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Train up a child in the way (s)he should go...

I took care of 9 children for 8 hours today...alone. They ranged in age from 12 to 5 months. And I'm pleased to report, it was such a blessing to me. I'm ashamed to admit that I'd have been too chicken to offer to watch my friend's 7 daughters on my own initiative. But I'm so glad that Kim had enough confidence in me to ask if I'd keep her girls for the day while she helped a friend in need.

They are exceptional. They didn't fight with one another once. They changed diapers, helped make and serve peanut butter sandwiches, sprayed down the doggie-do in our yard so it wouldn't get stepped on, made sure that each of their sisters wasn't left out, and even played board games in a way that wouldn't hurt anyone's feelings. Our only casualty was a small issue with orange jello making it's way into the carpet--I can handle that. I kept having to do a head count because I couldn't believe that all of them could be present and things still be so under control.

And the best thing about them is, they are totally normal kids. Not well-behaved because they live in an oppressive environment, but rather, Godly because they are trained to love the Lord and to love others. Do they have energy? Yes. Do they obviously have fun and love life? Yes. But they behave in a way that makes them a joy to be around, not only to their parents, but to anyone who knows them.

I'm grateful for the chance to have served outside of my comfort zone. An experience that some would say sounds like great birth-control only served as a reassurance of God's promises to me. Children are a blessing, and a household full of them means an abundance of blessings, indeed.

5 comments:

Krista said...

Steph! That's awesome!! I'm glad it went well, they sound like amazing kids! I have some good news to tell yooooou..... but I don't want to blog about it until I know it's official! :) I'm glad we got to talk yesterday!

Anonymous said...

Thanks you Stephanie for watching Kim's girls yesterday. I really appreciated Kim being able to be there yesterday. Having Kim, Garfield, David, Doug and my Daddy and cousin's husband there really helped to calm me down and get through it all. You helped make that possible. Thanks a million.

Kim C. said...

Thanks for the great review, Stephanie :) Of course *I* think my kids are great, but it's nice that others can enjoy them as well.
I was so thankful to have a friend that would eagerly help me, while I was helping another. That's what friends are for, right?
So now you're all set to have 6 or 8 more kids...

Krista said...

Hey Steph :)
Thanks for your comments. I'll for sure be home during Spring Break, for about 9 days. March 11th-19th. I'll be leaving on the 19th. If you need me, I'l be there, I'll be theeeere, just call my name, I'll be there. Haha. Okay, TTYS!

Stephanie said...

Kim and Michelle, it was my pleasure. Glad to help out and get a glimpse of what the future may hold!