Week 5: Hugs

Happy Wednesday! This week was a long one, and it had a few ups and downs. I've noticed as things get busier and more into my routine I make less and less time to journal so I lose a lot more details about my day, so I'll try my best to change that. I was stuck in my head a lot for a few days this week, and I was thinking about how this would probably make for a sad blog. I was so wrong! God decided it was the perfect time to send me hugs throughout the week. I don't have space to share all of them because I really do see hugs from Him left and right in the form of my loved ones, but I'm going to share some of the small ones from this week with you!

Hug 1

Starting off, last Thursday was Angel's birthday! And to celebrate it, Kim baked her a delicious chocolate cake. As we were making dinner in our kitchen, we looked down the hill and saw Angel walking up with a plate in her hands carrying 4 pieces of cake. She looked so happy and shy as she was walking up, and we looked overJOYED to see cake coming our way. It was definitely one of those moments that at face value doesn't have a ton of meaning, but that definitely brightened up our day.

Hug 2

We've started walking the girls to school every Monday, and even though getting up early is a task for the strongest of us, the feeling of seeing them get happy when we walk into the kitchen to meet them in the morning is unmatched. Walking while holding their hands the whole way erases all the tiredness, and seeing them wave goodbye for a good 20 seconds as we're leaving warms my heart in a way that an extra half an hour of sleep never could.

Hug 3

The other day during study hall, Triza came over and handed me this note, smiled, and went back to her seat. She wrote one for each of us SMs, and I just about teared up! If you can't tell, she wrote "I love you auntie Sofi". Katie and Lauran have been teaching them to fold envelopes out of paper and the little ones are obsessed with writing us letters.

Hug 4

Another unexpected brightening of my day! I was going over to make dinner when I got a call that there were elephants outside the gate! By the time I got there they'd moved up the hill, so the four of us climbed the water tower. We stayed for a good 15 minutes trying to see if we could spot anything. We heard grunts and their footsteps, and even saw their trunks, but no clear pictures yet. It was worth being up there though, definitely found a potential journaling/devotional spot.

Hug 5

This one was an INSTANT hug! On Sabbath I was sort of really down and I felt like just waiting for the day to end so I could sleep it off. Then right after our play (We performed another play, by the way. SO fun.) Kim texted us to come directly to the gate in our swimsuits! She took us to the Spirit of the Mara, a resort overlooking the reserve! On the way there we saw warthogs, a hyena, a giraffe, and a few other animals that I can't remember because it was while we were driving by. When we got there she said we were just here to swim for a while and we had the best time in the pool with Angel too. Afterwards since we were freezing she got us some hot chocolate, and drove us back to the Trust where we made a late dinner and hung out just the four of us SMs again. The day that I had been anticipating the end of became a fun Saturday night that helped pull me out of my negative thoughts! I know for sure God did that on purpose, and it makes me smile.

Hug 6

Remember Triza from the note? This is her on the right in bright pink. The sweetest girl ever, and on the left is her sister Sharleen, who is just as adorable. The Sabbath afternoon that I was talking about, we were all outside on the mats and I guess I looked visibly down, because I looked up and Triza was looking at me. She was in a huddle of girls who were watching a video, but she came over to where I was and sat next to me, giving me a hug and cuddling me without saying a word. That about brought me to tears again. Triza has been through unspeakable trauma and is just 9 years old, and the fact that God used her to brighten up my day is such a humbling idea that I can't wrap my head around. If she can be such a bright source of love to me, how much more can I be to others?

Hug 7

I didn't have a picture for this last one but my friend Vicky texted me a written out prayer for me out of nowhere, and in her prayer even mentioned things that I needed but she had no way of knowing. That really was the last bit that I needed, to know that God really is sending me hugs everywhere I look when I least expect them. Pay attention to the hugs you get this week :)