Lent: Day Thirty-Two

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not naturally a kid person. I mean, I like kids, and when I put forth the effort, they seem to like me in return. We have lots of fun together. But it doesn't come naturally for me.

I am not that girl who cuddles all the new babies at church or volunteers in the nursery or teaches Sunday School. I'd much rather scrub a toilet, bake goodies...or man a shovel on a water well site. 

That's why I marveled at God's sense of humor when he placed me, these two brothers, and a bag of frisbees and balls within a 2-foot radius of each other our first day in Campenaro Numero Dos, El Salvador. I mean, how could I refuse those faces?!

At first, I only humored Dani and Zeta. I felt bad for "playing" while my teammates were working up a sweat 40 feet away.

But then God did something. In me. He made me silly and animated and coordinated. I started pitching frisbees backwards, under my legs, two at a time. I made faces and laughed and got down on Dani and Zeta's level to hug them and take funny photos.

For a few precious moments, God made me a natural kid person and enabled me to live in that very moment. We hopped and rolled and tossed and ran and laughed.

I can still hear their laughter. It was one of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard, made even more beautiful by God's spur-of-the-moment transformation of a somewhat awkward girl who feels much more normal with a pen or book in her hand than a kid.

And so, I suppose the lesson is this: Drilling a water well is a serious business that cures serious diseases--of body and soul. But drilling a water well is also a chance to give the gift of play and laughter to all those beautiful kiddos in the world.

I fast for that...for the laughter of Dani and Zeta and every other kid who has been or will be visited by a team from Living Water International.