This is my Romania:
Six girls, one grandma, and a very joyful Romanian man (Marian, our awesome translator and friend). We met in a cozy living room to study English. We talked about school. We laughed over Anna’s and my attempts at Romanian. I tried to remember where to put adverbials in a sentence.
Thank you, Mrs. Robinson, for instilling grammar rules somewhere in my brain to be pulled out five years later.
Through the lyrics of Call Me Maybe and a weather-themed bingo game, the girls grew in their English.
I grew to love them.
I love them because one, they are precious and funny. Two, because Jesus loves them.
I just want to SQUEEZE them. Our English lessons together were my favorite part of Romania.
My prayers are for them to understand now what I have just recently let permeate my heart about myself–
They are beautiful just the way they are because God does not make mistakes.
The attention and affirmations of people will never be enough.
They have a purpose only they can fulfill.
I want them to live life with a different perspective than many teens their age–
Know that other people’s talents and beauty do not discount their own.
See the blessings and always choose positivity.
Embrace uniqueness and wreck the world with laughter.
I wish I had embraced these truths earlier. It would have saved me from a lot of insecurities, a lot of chasing after worldly affirmations, and a lot of pride.
When we understand our worth, our value, and our beauty, it leads us to a place of humility because we know it is nothing of our merit but instead a reflection of the Creator. There, we find freedom to be unique because our eyes are not comparing and warping our perspectives but rather focusing on Jesus.
I want this for them, but I cannot live for them. Where one’s identity is found is a choice we all make.
These girls showed me a passion that I did not realize I had. I love teaching. I come alive brainstorming ways to make lessons interesting. I get excited when the girls learn and remember.
And teenagers, despite sometimes getting a bad rep, have so much potential. Not that adults do not, because potential is directly related to breathing, but the potential in my girls was untainted and untapped. I could see what they could be, even when they could not.
Guide them, Jesus. Help them to be brave enough to walk away from the crowd, wise enough to distinguish lies from truths, and strong enough to love everyone like You love them.
And thank You for revealing in me a passion to guide the girls who are currently walking through a season where I fell short.
