Momma Love

This is what John, the little boy I babysit for, says when he misses his mom. I want my momma love.

Being here is making me experience this momma love even though I don’t have any kids to call my own. (And I won’t be taking any home- no worries, not yet at least) Because caring for these kids requires a lot of forgiving, a lot of consistent discipline, patience, and endurance in dealing with bodily functions. Caring for these kids requires momma love. Aka agape.

Last Sunday, for example, I gave all the girls their bath (shower) and the water was cold. I had already done my hair for church and was going to change quickly before the service started after the kids were ready. My plan played out a bit differently when Rosa wouldn’t give me the shower hose and decided to spray all the girls herself and Mariella jumped out of the shower and attacked my leg while Claudia screamed and Magali started crying. My leg was soaked and my hair was clearly not going to make it either. What was I to do - yell at little naked screaming girls for being cold? Yes! Just kidding. No- with God’s grace I started singing songs about how great water is and counting to three excitedly each time I sprayed them so they knew the cold wouldn’t last too long. In that moment I did not feel like trying to cheer up these little girls who seemed like my enemies. But God did a miracle right then- he handed out some momma love to me. Because momma love is not easily angered.

I was the one with the towel afterwards who got to wrap them up and hug them as they got out. And it didn’t matter that my coffee had worn off.

God knows something about momma love. Momma love (comparable to agape in my use of it here) is constantly tested but constantly rejoices in victories.

So yesterday, when Andrea and I were at the park, Jose got diarrhea that got all over him. I took him back to bathe him. My stomach had been uneasy and more so Jose was mad at me for bringing him back to the house to clean him up. He wanted to keep playing. But after he was bathed and re-diapered I let him pick out his own socks and shoes. Black socks and Sponge Bob crocks. I grabbed his hand to go back up the hill and he kissed it. Happy as can be he bounced up the hill and every time we walked past someone I made sure they saw his awesome feet. What can I say, at that moment he was my cute kid to show off. Momma love is patient and kind.

Later I came back and Hector was at the house and I was supposed to bring him up to the park with the others. He gave me the evil eye and I told him sternly that he was coming up with us right now. And he yelled no and dropped to the pavement. When kids these age don’t want to go somewhere and an adult starts to grab their arm they very strategically make their body go limp so it is impossible to drag them along. I looked down at Hector and he had tears all down his face. Normally I would not allow for this blatant disrespect of lying down on the pavement because one doesn’t want to walk, but God reminded me that Hector is fragile. So I bent down, and humbled myself and instead of demanding that he respect me, I told him I wasn’t mad and that I needed him to come sit with me. I held him for awhile and he finally told me he didn’t feel good. After some time of him sitting on my lap curled in my arms, he started to feel better and suddenly he jumped down and started playing cars with the boys, occasionally looking back at me and smiling. Momma love always protects, always trusts, always perseveres.

Momma love, aka agape, is a miraculous thing. Thank you God for giving all of us a taste of it this summer.

PS: Moms have bragging rights- here is my moment to brag:

Claudia can say “tah dah!”

Anderson shared his car yesterday

David is finally playing with the other kids

Juanito can wink with each eye

Mariella gargles her spit and makes hilarious faces

Alex is good at braids

Melvin sings whenever he swings

Mauricio is the most gentleman of all

All of our boys pick us flowers daily

Manuel can draw a monkey with chalk

Rosita always comes and finds me for a hug

My kids are so dang cute. AND IF YOU WANT TO SPONSOR ONE, GO TO:

http://www.foce.org/sponsorship.html (and pick one from CASA LAMAR! My house! Ok, the other houses work too)

1 Corinthians 13

Love

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.