Unexpected Blessings

I hadn’t planned on writing anything today but after last night, I have to share! You see, I am not, by nature, an out-going person who just loves to get out there and meet new people. A few weeks ago, I was speaking with some ladies from church and our preacher’s wife was talking about someone who had visited church and had been greet by very few. It triggered strong memories in me of when I was young and visiting the church my grandparents attended. I hated going there because no one our age talked to us, even in Bible class. It was an encouraging conversation because it gave me the prodding that I needed while being reminded that I was still a mom who had kids that needed training and my attention.

Last night at church, I was blessed to meet a family who is studying at a preaching school a couple of hours away. They visited our congregation and sat a few pews in front of us. Their two children were with them. Their daughter is just a bit older than our youngest and I realized that it was a great opportunity to teach J how to make a friend and make someone feel welcome. So, after the closing prayer, we hopped up there and introduced ourselves. Our preacher’s wife has an incentive program for the little ones to pay attention during the sermon so we asked the visiting young lady if she would like to go with us to Mrs. Nancy to get the prize. And the kids just played from there.

That blessed me with the ability to go visit with the parents of that young lady. The conversation blessed me with a friendship with a fellow homeschooling mom and new friend myself, in addition to knowing another sister in Christ. They were headed back up to their home after services, 2 hours away, but hadn’t yet had dinner, so we invited them over (for leftovers, of course, but they said they didn’t mind). We ended up talking for a couple of hours and the 5 kids played. It was a truly energizing and encouraging evening for me.

I know I have used the word blessing a lot in this one but I truly do feel that I got an unbelievable amount of blessings yesterday. While the conversation from a while back prompted me, if we hadn’t been homeschooling, it never would have happened. You see, that the kids needed to get home and to bed because they had school the next day was often an excuse I used not to approach a visitor. Or maybe it was that they had homework that needed done. Or, or, or… Homeschooling allowed me to free myself from some of Satan’s traps that he had me believing. And because of that, I was blessed.

One of my favorite blessings from yesterday, I have saved for the end. J was in bed, we were saying her prayer, and afterward she said “When is my new friend going to come back? I want to play with her.” Also, “I know how to make a friend now. I just have to ask their name and tell them mine.” My heart melted because she had learned a step that is so important. And she’ll get to see her friend again before too long because her dad will come to preach at church some day in the not too distant future. And when our friends come, we already have plans to host them. At Home.