Two of the things I am passionate about are serving others and children. At our church we have a very young congregation that keeps getting married and having children. I decided when multiple births were happening around the same time that I wanted to give a gift to those couples. I decided to offer to watch their kids as a gift for them to have a ‘date night’ when they are ready to leave the house.

I had the opportunity to serve a couple in which I see and know from church but on a personal level we really don’t know much about each other. I was a little nervous that the oldest (2 years.) would not take to me and the parents would feel guilt for leaving their children under my care. I was not prepared for what was in store.

Contrary to my belief the sweet little girl and I became instant best friends. She wanted to play with me and even wanted me to carry her around the house. As her parents left and we waved and blew kisses and the comfort seemed to stay around. We played a little and then as soon as she started crashing it was time to rock and read books.

Being new to this girl and not knowing her 2 year old ‘lingo’ I couldn’t figure out what she was wanting. The tears came and I could see her frustration because I wasn’t getting it. I tried to sound out the toddler gibberish but it just wasn’t making any sense. In her frustration she kept crying out for “mommy”. After a few minutes of decoding and toddler negotiations I realized that her blanket was downstairs. We got the blanket, read her books and rocked. As she was falling asleep she would check just to make sure I was there. I sat there rocking her and listening to her breath and began to think.

Once in a while I have times in my life where no one seems to understand me. I feel lost, confused by people around and frustration when nothing seems to be going my way. I feel a lot like that sweet little baby. She knew what would make her feel better, I just couldn’t understand. Everything finally clicked and she got her blanket and just laid close to my chest as I rocked her to sleep. She felt peace and comfort in my arms, even if I wasn’t her ‘mommy’.

Sometimes we don’t always need things to be worked out. We just need to feel the comfort of what is there even if it’s not exactly what we are wanting.