Jobs

I love it when people ask me what my "job" is. "Where do you work?" "What do you do for a living?" Most can't believe that I am still a "Stay-at-Home Mom", as if they don't exist any more. I guess, for the most part, people just can't believe that we can actually afford

for me to stay at home because the crisis our economy is going through. Who knows... depending on how bad it does get... I may have to go back to work, but for now, I am a "stay-at-home Mom".
(Pictured is Kevin volunteering at a nearby elementary school, helping kids make slime. Adalia is one of my little mentees (on the right) and her buddy Catherine.)

No... I don't sit around watching Oprah and eat bon bons... and no, my house is not spotless and the laundry is not finished all of the time... (I laughed so hard at my dear friend Shonni's blog when she asked the question "is anything ever really finished... like laundry", I spit up my coffee I was drinking while reading it!). I tend to volunteer my time... a lot. I volunteer at the schools in my community. Not just my daughters' schools, but all the schools in my community.

One of my favorite volunteer jobs is mentoring. I mentor girls in the elementary school whose Moms have left them. I get really frustrated too. I listen to these little girls as they tell me how much they miss their mom, how no one is there to put them to bed at night, how no one is there to fix them dinner, how no one is there to brush their hair... the list, sadly, goes on. These sweet little lambs feel so rejected, so hurt... confused... There is no one there to tell them that they have a God that loves them, that wants to give them life, that knows their deepest hurt. There is no one there to talk to them about boys, what's it like to grow up, are these feelings that I have normal... My heart goes out to them. With one of my girls... yup they are mine, or at least it feels that way... I have been mentoring her for the past 5 years. Her mother was a big part of her life for her first five years... then she tried to kill the little girl's father with a butcher knife in front of her and her small brother. Of course she went to jail for two years and then she was released. I am willing to bet that her mother was probably not loved by someone as she was growing up either... so the cycle begins... but where does the cycle stop? The little girl is ten years old now and really wants a Mom. If I was able to, I would snatch her and her little brothers and they would come live with us... but I can't do that. It's funny, physically, anyone can be a Mom or a Dad... you don't have to fill out any forms, you don't have to be responsible, you don't have to do the right thing... but in the end... who really gets hurt by it?

I know that our Father puts us on this earth for a reason, and sometimes, man can mess that up. I know that sometimes we have to take the chance on others, so that others can really know who He is. Who says we can't preach the Word of God in a public school, who says I can't be Christ's example in a public school? It's exactly what we are suppose to do. We are suppose to reach out to those who are hurting, draw them in, love them... I want to be an example of my Savior... with His mercy and with His grace, I want to reach out to those who are hurting and I want to love them. If you have a little bit of time on your hands, please consider doing the same. Volunteer your time... take the risk and get involved. So far, no one has complained about what I have been doing... and if someone does... what are they going to do... fire me?

Have a blessed day!