Mommy For A Weekend (A Lesson On Grace & Patience)

As I've reflected over my weekend I can't help but want to both laugh and cry.
     To backtrack, my youngest sister Mia was life-flighted to MOTT's Children's Hospital in Michigan  on Thursday June 2nd. I was out at the movies with a friend and was messaged by my mother informing me that the pain Mia had been feeling after her heart surgery was due to fluid buildup. After further investigation they decided to take her to MOTT for admittance. My mom would be in the helicopter with her but my dad was going to drive up. After the movie I met him at a gas station to switch cars and that was the beginning of it all. I was handed some money and told "good luck." It was my turn to watch the littles....Anna May (8) and Ella (6).

My grandma had been kindly watching the girls for me as I was out having fun so I dropped off my friend and raced home so she could get back to her place. I had some other things planned so my parents helped create a schedule and it looked a little something like this....

Friday: I watched the girls. We woke up and promptly started chores and cleaning the house. We did dishes, cleaned up the living room and dining room, folded some laundry, I even attempted to sweep (and by attempted I mean I tried to but our vacuum cleaner started to smoke...) later on in the evening my boyfriend (Matt) came over and someone delivered Chinese for dinner so we ate and then took the girls down to the lake for a swim! We had a very eventful and fun day!

Saturday: The girls and I had different schedules. My day consisted of 2 birthday parties and then a party with some friends from church. The girls got to enjoy time with their Aunt and Nana and also got to go to a birthday party!

Sunday: I got up around 7:15ish and got all of us dressed and prettied up for church. After, we went to Matt's house and had some lunch and some relaxation time and then I took the girl to Mama Ott's house for some swimming while I went home. I was supposed to start cleaning and packing but instead crashed on the couch for a good hour or so before any action actually took place.

Now that you have a look as to what my weekend was like I'll share what I learned with you. If you know me, you in turn know that I am an introvert. Meaning I'm very quiet, very shy, am drained easily by human interaction, and am recharged by time alone. Viewing my schedule you can probably make the assumption that I was going crazy. Both mentally and physically, and your assumption would be correct. But, I learned so much from this. Both about myself and about my amazing God. Through the rough times of the girls not listening this weekend, to the late night cleaning of the house, to the 7AM wake ups.....I learned grace. Unending, unconditional grace. Can you imagine how many times we disobey God? Daily, hourly, minutely? God never sleeps, He is always watching over us, our hearts. He is there when we lay our heads down and we wake in the mornings. His grace is so overabundant and this weekend has showed me so much about that.

I've also learned patience, which was something I really needed some practice with. I'm very wish-washy with my patience, sometimes its overabundant and sometimes it's dealt out very rarely. This weekend my eyes have been opened up to the patience given by not only God but also my own mother. Patience really is a virtue. God gives us tons of it, even though we constantly choose to ignore Him, even though we are sinful. I've seen God's patience a lot through my mother. I texted her a few nights thanking her for doing everything she does. One text read "You never know how much your parents truly do for you until you get a chance to walk in their shoes. Thanks for always putting up with us and taking care of us!"

This weekend was definitely a challenge for me. But, between the challenge was the lesson! I wouldn't have it any other way, I loved watching my beautiful sisters. I loved smiling with them and laughing with them, watching them interact with each other and people around them. They are blessings, and they've taught one shy girl a lesson on God's grace and patience. So, Anna May and Ella. I love you both bunches! Thank you for letting me play house with you this weekend, playing the part of mommy was a joy. Though it didn't last long, being a big sister to the two of you will last forever. I'm loving every part of it!