My little girl turned 18, yesterday! No, not that little girl, my other one. Don't worry Angie's still 9, but my Talita Cumi sponsor kiddo who didn't quite weasel her way into my home, but definitely secured her place in my heart, Jenny, is all grown up now.
18's a big birthday for anyone, but for Jenny is was big for different reasons than most teenagers, and with a whole different set of emotions she's been unwrapping for the past year. You see Jenny's lived at the home for ten years, since its beginning, and now as an adult it's time for her to move on and say goodbye to the family she's known and loved for so long. And not only the "family" of rowdy kids and comforting caregivers, but also her biological 15 year-old brother and 13 year-old sister who she dreads leaving behind.
So, to take her mind off the huge changes looming in the near future, Ange and I took her out and filled her up with love, and sugar. She wanted to see the new Twilight movie, but I'm not even sure if I'm old enough to watch that let alone Angie, so we settled on "Puss in Boots," which was the first refreshingly non-environmentally-agendaed cartoon I've seen in awhile. Then the girls tested out the majority of the 100 zillion games in the adjoining arcade. And of course we topped off the candied movie popcorn with some ice cream loaded with dulce de leche, cookies and candy bars, just to spoil the surprise dinner Talita Cumi was preparing for her...
On the ride back to the home we prayed the Lord would guide her and give her strength in this next year, that she would be able to trust in Him and sense His love and presence with her always. That with each passing year she would know Him more. And when we arrived home there was a surprise birthday party waiting for her; a pack of 30 adoring sisters, brothers, and tias (aunts), to fill her love tank to brimming over. 
Studying the story of the woman who pours the expensive perfume on Jesus' head yesterday, I thought of how sometimes we can clothe the sick, feed the hungry, or visit the prisoners and it's as if we're doing those same things to Jesus. Or sometimes we can love someone a bit extravagantly, treat them to a little more than is necessary, spoil them with expensive perfume and maybe it's as if we're doing that to Jesus too..."She has done a beautiful thing to me." -Jesus, Mark 14:6
1 comment:
I pray that Jenny will always remember this birthday and the love that you and Angie and God and all the rest of her family have for her. I'm sure you've been a wonderful influence in her life.
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