Home Again, Home Again

Just returned 'home' after a week long visit 'home' :)
It was a WONDERFUL visit with family, and in the midst of traveling, Thanksgiving, playing with the nieces, shopping, and a wedding it was still somehow relaxing!

I had a great visit with Angela, Mom and Dad, Jenny and her girls, both Grandmas, the majority of the extended family, and I witnessed the beautiful wedding of John and Marissa Bower!

After such a nice visit it wasn't tough returning to Belize, but it was tough knowing that I won't be back in the States until mid-June.  The thought of not seeing my nieces for 6 months breaks my heart!

I was trying to explain to some of the other volunteers (knowing full well they won't completely get it until they have nieces or nephews of their own) all the little things they do that just melt my heart.  Simple things, like riding in the car and making Megan, who's 10 months old now, laugh, then I laugh, then she laughs louder, and back and forth we go, just watching her big open-mouth smile and hearing her belly laugh all because I'm smiling and laughing with her, that's all it takes!  And then there's Anna, who's 2 and a half, who gets all excited because Auntie Betsy shares a room with her.  We make cookies together and she loves mixing and lucky for us she hates spills so she's quite careful not to make a mess!  Then when we go to bed she falls asleep smiling up at me with that sweet little angelic face.  These are the little things that you miss living far away, these little daily events that melt your heart!  

I was pondering all of this, especially the amazing ability of small children to melt hearts while I waited for my flight to leave from Jackson, MS.  Thanks to the free WiFi I checked my Facebook and my heart was unexpectedly melted by someone other than my nieces, this time by my students.  Those of you that know me well already know I'm not a very emotional teacher.  I love teaching, but I don't miss my students over the holidays, it's not hard for me to discipline them, and I don't get upset if they don't like me, haha.  When I told them I'd be gone for a week the girls asked me to bring them back some candy and the boys were excited and cheered, this is not shocking, students never appreciate their teacher while they have them!  So while I was gone, turns out, they asked about me constantly, and when another teacher was substituting for my girls' homeroom they decided to make a sign and a video message to send to me :)  It was surprisingly touching and I realized I may not have my nieces nearby, but God is giving me adopted nieces and, if I'm open they will melt my heart, too.

God is reminding me to be happy with what He has given me, it's okay to miss people, of course, but not so much that it blocks you from seeing clearly who He has given you in your life where you are.  Wherever we are, He has given us adopted family, children, siblings, friends, and nieces when we are far from our loved ones... our job is to make sure we don't miss seeing them as our family.  Remember that we are meant to be in relationship with our coworkers and neighbors, so don't be afraid to be a sister, brother, mother, cousin, friend, daughter, son, etc to them.  We all need each other, whether we're near home or far away!  Be open, and God will move in unexpected ways and in unexpected people in your life!