"My Power is Made Perfect in Weakness"

Do you know a doctor who has gotten sick and had to be the patient?  How about a physical therapist with an injury? It is very hard going from being the one with the knowledge and control to being the one needing the services. This is the situation I find myself in right now. 


In the states, I was a teacher. I liked what I did, was good at it, parents and students liked me, I was creative and I felt smart and confident. 
I was also a Northern Virginia mom. I chauffeured my kids around and got theme where they needed to be all while driving in my Honda Pilot. Without me they were often trapped to the confines of our own neighborhood. 


But then I moved to Guatemala. 


I've gone from being a teacher to a student. I am finding spanish school difficult and am often questioning my intellect. I talk childish spanish and often get my verb tenses wrong. The other day my teacher was calling out large numbers in spanish and I had to write them.  I got a few of them wrong! This is an activity I did with my 5th grade students while teaching place value, and here I am, like a 10 yr. old student, writing out my numbers and not fully succeeding. It is humbling at best.


In Guatemala, I do not drive and I never go anywhere alone. I have been stripped of my independence. 


These are not bad things in and of themselves as I am liking my life in Guatemala. These feelings are also not unique to me, as I have talked with many amazing women here who feel the same way I do. But I am finding that God is using these experiences to strip me of everything that I clung to as my identity. 


So, as God peals away, layer by layer, the "Self" I am full of,  I am encouraged by 2 Corin. 12:8
"But he [Christ] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me."


This is what God is working on in me, what is He working on in you? I would love to hear! 

I've Learned A Lot These Past 17 Years

Katey visiting Heather in California

17 years ago, on December 2nd, my first born child, Kate Elizabeth (Katey) was born.
I can't believe it has been 17 years. Of course, as her mom I have taught her a lot of things in those years, but that will never come close to how much she has taught me.

"Miranda" and "Lizzy"

It took years and many doctors visits to get pregnant, so before she ever was born I learned how to wait on God's perfect plan.

Rachel and Amanda "protesting"
on our front lawn

She has taught me how not to be so self centered, not just when she was a baby who needed me to meet her every need, but also as a young woman who often thinks of others above herself (except when it comes to Reese's... LOL)

Joy, Taylor and Katey
Best Friends since 3rd grade

She taught me what a devoted friend looks like, as she is the most faithful person to her friends that I know.

I learned early on that if she threw a tantrum, it was NOT all about me and how embarrassed I was.
I was so concerned about how I looked when she refused to go into her favorite ballet class, that I missed the fact that she was running a fever!

I learned how to rely on God as I saw her do so faithfully when she was in third grade and I was sick with breast cancer. From when I had cancer till a few years ago she would not spend the night away from home, but when she finally left home for a week it was to go to Guatemala on a mission trip. And when I anxiously recieved her call, I was floored when she said she did not want to come home, ever!

Katey helping with a camp in Guatemala

I have seen her live with integrity and she has taught me to do the same, now if she could only get me to stop cussing.... (just kidding, I have not been cussing in Guatemala)
She has displayed a servants heart serving our home church in so many ways, I couldn't begin to count them or even match them.

Katey and Rachel...enough said

She has a creative eye and computer skills that surpass me by miles.
In her, I see a strong quiet confidence and security in the Lord.
She has listened to more sermons on line than I have heard in a life time.

She swims faster than me, grew taller than me, comprehends more spanish than me, she's a great babysitter and an even better big sister.

My kids eating at MonoLoco in Guatemala, where we now live

She is not perfect, but is amazing.  Many may say that behind every good kid is a good parent, (ok, maybe nobody says it but they should) but I know the truth, so much of who she turned out to be had little to do with me. So as I reflect on these past 17 years, I am happy with how much I've grown. Ok, so maybe I still need to grow in the area of it not being all about me.

Katey and I