{children}

i love my job because i love kids.  i love their joy, i love their awe, i love their trust.

i have been following a blog for the past year about a sweet little girl with cancer.  i hate cancer, and i hate when kids get cancer.  it doesn't seem fair.  but i love her family.  not only did they trust God with her cancer, but they trusted Him without question of why.  she passed away over the weekend after 4 years of cancer treatments, surgeries, experimental therapies, and so much pain... too much for a sweet little 9 year old to face.
i cannot imagine losing a child.  my brain won't even allow me to go to that place, but reading what her mother wrote... there is joy. joy of knowing where her baby is. joy in knowing this isn't a goodbye forever. sadness, but joy in knowing Christ, and knowing her little girl loved Jesus.

very frequently, the hardest part of my job is trying to show parents how great their kids are.  my little friends are some of the funniest, cutest, most trusting and loving children.  that is who God made kids to be, and it is why i love them.

to my friends who are parents, thank you.  it is easy for me to lose faith sometimes in parents.  thank you for loving your kids, taking delight in your kids, and letting them know you love them.

life is too short.  earth is temporary.  i want to make the most of my time here.  i want to love. i want to be joyful. i want to celebrate each day God blesses me with.

life is not always easy, but it is beautiful.

and go pray for this family (prayfordaisy.com) i pray i can continually hand over to God the things that are most dear to me, and face each trial with joy, just as this family has with one of the most difficult struggles in this world.