Hi Friends!
As it getting further & further into the winter season, I struggle more & more to get out of my warm sleeping bag, crawl down from my bed & face the cold. I lay longer in my bed wishing I had just 5 more minutes of sleep & warmth. Who’s with me?! Today was one of those mornings! But this time my morning view looked different than normal…
The roofs were powdered with snow & it was a cold 33 degrees morning. Now normally I’m ecstatic when it comes to snow- no school, slunked in a comfy chair in front of my warm fireplace with a mug of hot cocoa & watching the snowfall through my windows. Well, this morning my mind was not focused on this lovely scene but the fact that I was cold, I wanted to be bundled in my sleeping bag where I would stay warm & cozy. I thought of this memory & I missed these things that made me feel so happy during a day like this. Instead, I had the reality of my only pair of jeans were still drying, I wore my warm sweater yesterday & I was having to walk in this cold weather to the ministry office. Honestly, I was struggling to see the good in this situation because one thing you should know about me is I HATE BEING COLD. So you can imagine the picture of home was the only thing in my mind keeping me going to distract me from reality. Although, I’m so thankful to live in a community of sisters who love sharing clothes! I ran upstairs to do a little clothes borrowing so I could be bundled up.
During my 15 minute walk to the ministry office, my attitude slowly started to shift as my Sis, Anna, who lives in Texas was so excited for this snow day! She hadn’t experienced snow very much so this was a treat for her! I realized how lucky I was to experience the snow days I had at home. I realized how cool it was that I got to experience a Romanian snow day with friends who have either never seen snow before or have rarely seen it. The Lord began opening my eyes to the beauty of the tiny snowflakes and the white powdered roofs. I began to appreciate the snow sticking in my hair and the flakes landing on my tongue. It brought me feelings of home & I was so happy to share some snow day memories with Anna and hear hers as well.
After our morning devos, I found out we were passing out little devotional books around the community & instantly began to dread it. The thought of walking in the cold & the exaggerating thought of my toes and fingers falling off from frostbite entered my mind. You know, it was a fun 15 minute walk to ministry but an hour made me want to teleport to my cozy chair next to my fireplace with a mug of hot cocoa. Since that was not an option, I quickly had to say some prayers for strength, warmth & motivation.
My group was responsible for passing them out to apartment buildings in the area with an American missionary, Laura. We went from building to building placing the books in mail boxes & handing some out to people we crossed along the way. We came to one apartment building where we met a sweet lady & her 3 year old son and chatted for a little while. Her son was so cute and so talkative! He begged his mom to take him outside to see the snow, get a Christmas tree & go to bed so Santa would come. Oh the mind of a child is the purest & sweetest thing. His excitement brought me so much joy. The mother was so happy to have met us & was excited to come to church tomorrow. The little boy couldn’t wait to see “his friends” (us) again! Yayy, we are so happy we met them and can’t wait to see them tomorrow! Once we finished, Laura invited us to her apartment so we could warm up a bit.
(Abi, Aidyn, Cami, Me, Laura)
The minute I entered her apartment, I felt at home. She hung up our jackets & gave us all a pair of slippers to warm out numb toes. We sat on her comfy couch, talked & listened to Abi play Christmas music on Laura’s piano. I felt so cozy, warm & truly at home. Since Laura was an American, her house felt like we were in America at our Aunts house because of the layout, JIF peanut butter in her pantry, Target brand hot cocoa packets ( I know a target brand when I see one, haha) and Laura. She was so welcoming and caring like an Aunt would be. She brought out a tray with mugs of hot cocoa, marshmallows & some delicious Christmas cookies. We were all gathered around sipping our yummy hot cocoa, eating cookies & eager to hear the wisdom Laura had to share. Laura is so kind, joyful & comforting. Her presence brings a sense of home & warmth. I’ve never felt more at home than I did during these moments at our Aunt Laura’s house- oh wait, I like that, Aunt Laura, so sweet sounding!
In a morning that I missed home, struggled to see the good and dreaded the cold, God blessed me with the perfect person that brought that sense of home I was missing. I am so grateful for this wintery-homey morning and the time I got to spend it with each of these ladies!!! I am so thankful for the snow day memories He placed in my mind to bring me joy! This morning was beautiful and so lovely and SO worth it. God is so worth getting out of my warm sleeping bag, walking in the cold & frozen toes. Thank you God for today! It was one of my favorite mornings here!!!
Thank you for reading about my morning!
Stay Tuned <3
