"Rockabye Baby"

Last weekend, I was asked to be the Tia in the Gold House for the weekend. Although Tia is the word for "aunt," she is the "mother" of the household. She cooks, makes sure chores done, takes care of all the kids in her house, and basically does everything a mom would (break up fights, calm tears, read stories, play, fall asleep exhausted...)

I always adore my opportunities to serve as a Tia because they provide me with 72 hours to get to know the girls better in a particular house. Though, my favorite time came at bedtime...

After spending all day with 8 girls, doing chores, cooking meals, trying to explain why tattling is bad, ignoring the whining (sometimes a communication barrier can be a blessing), and playing games, I was ready for bed.

Everyone brushed their teeth, changed into pajamas, and crawled into bed. Then, I went around to each one and sat with them awhile, talking about their day, praying with them and finally kissing them good night and telling them how much I loved them. The girls on the top bunks were shocked and broke out giggling when I climbed up on top with them to chat for a little while.

The effect was amazing.
Girls that had been cold to me all day suddenly turned all smiles. The little ones felt like someone was taking the chance to listen to them for a while, instead of just tell them what to do. And, Jackeline, a girl who needs lots of positive reinforcement, heard me tell her I loved her, even though we'd had a discussion about the quality of her chores earlier. They gave me HUGE hugs and said "Te Quiero" (I love you) a hundred times.

The next morning and all throughout the day, the girls reminded me of my promise to read them a story that night. Attitudes toward me softened and there was a general atmosphere of love and peace in the house.

That night, when I brought out the book of stories they all went running to their rooms. While I was in reading with the younger girls, the older girls, ages 10-12, came in to make sure that I was coming to their room next.

Later, I heard one of the girls say to Tia Patty, "When I was at home, my parents never tucked me in. They just said 1-2-3, to bed! But when you talk and pray with me at night, I feel loved."

Most often, love is felt in tiny, every day things, rather than in giant gestures.
I believe that God will use our efforts, however small or insignificant they may be, to enrich the lives of others. Maybe my mission here is to read bedtime stories to girls at night, and if that be true, may I never run out of stories to tell.