Loving Me

The last couple weeks have been long. This week currently is proving to be long. (Is it Spring Break yet?) Normally when someone asks, "how's it going?" my reply is, "pretty good!"--and I mean it. If you were to ask me that question right now, however, my response would be, "it's going."

Nevertheless, my little world has been rich in blessing. Here's kinda what I'm talking about:

• My niece P turned eight today. EIGHT! When I started working with her, she was just five years old; she is growing up so fast! Because my work is with preschoolers and kindergartners, P has become the oldest person with special needs that I have worked with in a significant capacity. Today at work we had a PD workshop on "Inclusion for Life", and the presenter talked about the importance of maintaining social networks and supports in the lives of adults with special needs. And not just service providers who are paid to be with that adult, but natural supports. People who come to hang out with the adult with special needs because they want to. ...I thought of P all afternoon. She will be the first person with special needs that I will see through to adulthood (I hope!), and it's really exciting to think about. I've already told N I want to take her to a Great Big Sea concert. I would love to take her on a day trip somewhere. Go for coffee with her (I feel like she will be a mocha kinda girl). What a blessing to be Aunty Gina for this family!

• Recently, I kinda stuck my foot in my mouth with some information I presented to some friends and colleagues. The intent was genuine--to be helpful. The information was important to be made known. That being said, some things I didn't consider were brought to light, and I realized that my presentation of information was perhaps not most effectively done. ...This is not the blessing part. That realization sucked big time. The blessing was in the forgiveness. Such pure forgiveness from the people I had impacted. No dwelling, no drawing it out, and definitely no hurting back. That forgiveness feels SO good! The Holy Spirit at work in people is a beautiful thing.

• I have been given a photo project. A friend from my small group msg-ed me and asked me to come up with something photographically artsy using shoes (more specifically, stilettos) for her apartment decor. Wow! I don't know what the difference is between that request and the request of families who have asked me to do their family photos, but I just feel so honoured and humbled that she trusts me enough to play a role in the decor of her home. What a blessing to use my photography skills to bless others; it's exactly what I wanted from my photography in the first place!

• My Haiti trip is but two months away (not even!), and donations are starting to come in. The hearts of people are so good.

God designed us to be in relationship with others, and these last few weeks have definitely shown the value of those relationships (even if the hard way), and the blessings they bring.

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.
It has no survival value;
rather, it is one of those things that gives value to survival."
-- C.S. Lewis