Last night at Share Group, my heart was really being pulled on - back to the discomfort I had a month ago.
I decided I would try again in the morning to make a connection with Hope's family. I woke up in a great mood, still with my heart being pulled on tremendously, and prayed for His will to be done today, whether I would have an answer, or more waiting.
I received a phone call about piano lessons at 11:30, and knew at that time that I needed to get up and get moving because I wanted to visit Hope before piano lessons.
On Monday, I doubted whether or not I was to go down that day. I even struggled with whether or not I should take the kids. Today, there was no question - I knew I was going down, and I knew I was taking the kids. As we parked, Morgan asked if they should stay in the car. I even knew at that time that they were along for a reason, so they went up to the door with me.
I knocked, and a little boy on the other side yelled, "Who is it?" I answered, "Mrs. K. from {school}." When he didn't hear me, I repeated, "Mrs. K. from {school}." An excited voice on the other side said, "It's Mrs. K. from {school}!" The little boy opened the door a crack and said, "Just a minute," then closed it again. It took what seemed like a long time, but was probably only about two minutes, and several more "just a minutes" and "be right theres," and Hope's step-dad finally came out. He wanted to talk to me on the step, saying that a couple of them were sick, and he was cleaning up messes inside. I told him that was fine, and introduced him to Morgan and Aidan, then gave him Hope's jacket and the belt I had for her. Then I told him about the strong feeling that I had that there might be a need for babysitting. His answer was, "Really?" He had such a relieved look on his face, it blew me away. Morgan was even touched, as she let out an excited giggle. He went on to say that he would be starting a new job next week, and that his wife was working on her GED at night. I stressed that there would be no charge, I wasn't looking for money, just to help out, and that it had nothing to do with school - this was personal. He expressed appreciation to me for taking such an interest in his kids, that no other teacher had ever done that before, and said he would talk to his wife about it.
I fumbled around in my purse for a piece of paper to write my phone number on. I finally found a sheet I had gotten at church yesterday and tore a piece off. As I was writing my phone number, I asked if he needed help taking care of the healthy ones today. He refused, saying that he was taking the sick ones to the doctor and the others out to play.
Before leaving, I asked if I could see Hope, so he went in to get her. I heard him tell her a special visitor was here just to see her. When she opened the door, she excitedly said, "It's my teacher!" When she came out, I gave her a hug and told her how much I missed her. After a little more smalltalk, I hugged her again and told her I hoped I would see her again next week. As we left, I told her step-dad not to hesitate to call me if they needed any help.
We prayed together as a family in the car, thanking God that the connection had finally been made, and the seed was planted. I left the complex happy, but a little nervous that I didn't yet have an answer. I asked Morgan what she thought of what just happened, and we talked about how it went better and more quickly than she had expected. I told her it was probably because we weren't invited inside, but that was OK because they didn't know we were coming. She mentioned she thought I sounded a little "church-y" (he had asked me during the course of the conversation if I went to church, and which church, and said that they went to one in Troy). After some thought, I asked Morgan if I sounded too "church-y," because I didn't want to scare them off. After more thought, I decided out loud so the kids could hear - "I didn't sound too church-y at all - I asked God for the right words, and what I said is what He wanted me to say." Immediately, my phone rang. I was so excited to answer it that I fumbled around, having trouble getting it out of my purse! I was afraid I would miss the call, but I answered it just in time. It was Hope's step-dad, apologizing because my visit took him by surprise, and wanting to accept my offer. I pulled over because I knew I would not be able to concentrate on driving - the "big thing" was happening! We decided to meet tomorrow afternoon to work out the details.
As I closed my phone, I just could not hold back my tears of joy. I clenched my fists, bowed my head, and sobbed as I said, "Yes! Yes!" Of course then I had to answer Aidan, who was concerned that I was crying! Since I wasn't able to talk yet, Morgan explained to him that they were tears of happiness, and I nodded.
Morgan asked if she could call Miss Eileen, and I first said, "We'll be there this afternoon." Then I changed my mind right away and said, "Sure, go ahead and call her."
After she gave Eileen the good news, Morgan said, "I think we have the perfect song (on my iPod) to play right now." She took my iPod and put on "Good Morning" by Phil Joel: "It's a good, good, good, good, good, good morning ... 'Cause you're a good, good, good, good, good, good God!" It was 10:53 am, and He is a GREAT God!
Tonight I emailed everyone in my address book that I thought might pray for this family, asking for the details to be placed in God's hands tomorrow.
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