Tribute To Some Wonderful Friends:

Tomorrow marks my 4 month period of working here at Grace Children's Home....wow 4 months already! It is truly hard to believe, there are some days that I think I haven't been here that long and other days where I feel that I have been here for years! My 4 month mark is the time where I meet with the program director and according to him when I first was accepted for the job he said "Your 4 month mark is the time you can flee from Grace if we scare you to death without worry!" I just chuckled at him when I started but after these past few months I have seen those crazy moments, and sometimes crazy kids that explain why I would want to flee. But honestly, as I think back on my 4 months here at Grace...I wouldn't trade them for anything. Sure things have been rough at times, but they help me grow. I am continually learning something new just as the kids I am working with are continue to grow themselves. We grow and learn together, and although it isn't easy it is worth it. You don't give up on the ones you love...families don't flee so why should I? I have made some pretty wonderful friends here these past 4 months as well. Three girls in particular I have grown super close with I feel. First there are my two wonderful co-staff/house parents I work with here at Bader: Becca and Hannah. We have three very different personalities which makes the relationships we have that much more interesting but also so great! Becca and I, although we have very different personalities I think we have grown a lot closer than we were when I first arrived. We can communicate (for the most part, I am still working on my communication skills to improve) and understand one another very well. I think it helps that you have two people who are different and grew up in two different lifestyles that can make a household work. We may not always agree, and she is definitely more outgoing than I am...which is something I truly admire about her, it is something I think that makes our friendship work. I am learning a lot about this job through Becca and it helps me understand more about not only her, but how she has been so successful with these girls here at Grace. I admire the way she doesn't care what others think about her, she is who she is and she is okay with it. She truly is a wonderful young woman and I cannot wait for our friendship to blossom into something wonderful!

Then there is my other co-staff Hannah. She is that crazy farmer girl that knows anything and everything about what it takes to live the country life. Whether it be plants, homemade remedies or anything you can possibly make from food to clothes and cleaning supplies. She is that girl that I can definitely learn a lot from! She has quickly become one of those friends I enjoy seeing everyday. She is just bubbly and always seems to have a smile on her face even when she is worn out and tired. I have found it pretty easy to get along with her and be able to have conversations about our families, friends and life struggles with. She is definitely a character, you never know what she will say or do next...but that is one of the many things I love about her! We seemed to have a wonderful system to working together as well. I am more of the paperwork person when the two of us are on and she will cook. Which I am definitely learning a lot from both Becca and Hannah what it takes to cook a meal and learning wonderful new recipes. I think the thing I admire the most about Hannah is definitely the way she carries her passions. She may talk about plants and gardening a lot but I do admire her for her knowledge in the things she loves to do and is passionate about working with and her faith. She is never shy to share with the girls what she has been reading in her devotions and our Sunday School each week. It is something I hope to aspire to do more. God wants us to do and share the Word and Hannah is definitely doing that, it is something that lifts my spirits up on a bad day and encourages me to try harder.

 

Then there is Caitlain. We don't work in the same cottage but we do have our days off together. Which I think helps us get together more and communicate about many different things. She is my Starbucks buddy, which we cannot go a single break without stopping for coffee. :) We have one of those friendship that I think developed quickly. From simply starting to hangout together since we had days off together, to sitting down and having deep conversations. I was surprised this last break I had to find that we had SO much in common with our pasts and our family situations. I particularly remember the night before we went back on duty she came over to borrow a can opener because she couldn't find hers. I was struggling that night just with so many emotions and frustrations from the past week (see my previous blog post) and was looking to vent and I just wasn't getting it from my mom like I was hoping. She came over and we talked for a good hour and half just sitting on the kitchen counter talking and eating salsa. I won't go into detail the topic and discussion we had but we found out so much about each other and how much our families were the same and how we had some of the same struggles. Well 5 minutes later I text her thanking her for talking and letting me vent even though she just came over for the can opener. Well she replied back saying it was definitely something that was on her mind as well and God must have known we were meant to talk to each other and share our stories and vent because no sooner had she walked in the door she found her can opener...right in front of where she was standing! Now God must have planned for us to talk or she would have found that. It is amazing how those things work! It is amazing the people God puts in your life at the right time, and I am fairly certain God placed each of these wonderful ladies in my life and the right moment, and these friendships are blossoming each day and I cannot wait to see them continue. I definitely admire the character Caitlain brings. She has been here the longest out of all the staff, a little over two years. So she is definitely the most wise. And I just love that as much as the kids tear into her and claim they don't like her...it makes me like her even more. She has such courage and wisdom that she doesn't care what they say and she does what she loves to do down here. We both have talked about staying here long term for awhile and possibly even settling down at some point in our lives in Henderson, and I think the fact that she is so accepting of the way God is working in her life while here is amazing. She is a bright and beautiful woman of God and she is someone who can hold me accountable and inspires me to be better and truly think about my life and what God has in store for me.

I don't know if these three read my blog at all. But regardless of if they do or don't I just want to thank you three for being such amazing friends and wonderful women of God that inspire me to be a better person. You three are amazing, beautiful and courageous and God has special plans for all of you and I hope that I am there to witness and encourage the blessings! I love you all!

Ashley