Tasted and Seen: Changes

Yesterday was an amazing Sunday. It was the kind of Sunday that you wish for when you go to bed on Saturday night -- a peaceful one spent with people you love and enjoy. It was the kind of Sunday that carries you through the rest of the week.

Yesterday before dinner, I spent about an hour sitting in a rocking chair outside of Casa Verde, overlooking the valley view that is so familiar to me. It is one of the most beautiful views I know.

As I sat, I spent some time reflecting on this year and I thought to myself, "How did I get here?" Do you ever have those moments? I laughed to myself as I thought, "Only God could have done this, and it is beautiful."

So many changes have taken place since I first stepped foot on the property of the Good Shepherd Children's Home in January 2012. Over 3 and a half years later, my life is drastically different from what it was then.

But the children I loved back then have also changed.

Children who once came up to the top of my stomach are now taller than me. Boys' voices have dropped. The little girls I played make-believe with underneath kitchen tables are now gaining new, curvy figures and preteen girl attitudes.

It is amazing to watch their lives unfold. And I get to stop and look back on it with such gratitude in my heart that God would allow me to live life with them.

I get to be their teacher, their friend, their mentor. I get to spend Sunday afternoons with them -- being silly and playing games and making memories.

Oh, what a privilege this is. I love my job.

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A few months ago, I did a Time-Lapse project. I gathered some pictures I took during my first trips in 2012, and I had the kids help me re-create them. It is so interesting to see what has and hasn't changed in 3 and a half years. I have loved seeing those changes, and Lord-willing, I am excited to see more in the years to come.