The Boy Cousins

Though the world is in crisis right now, dealing with COVID-19, the coronavirus, there is peace here, in many places.

This morning I packed up Charlie at our house, and drove into Ostrava with him to visit his two cousins, Judah and Asher, our other two grandsons!

While Caleb, Haley and Jenna were at a doctor check-up (all is well!), and Tyler is meeting with his ForMission campus online because all education has been cancelled in person here in Czech, and Lara is out studying and grocery shopping in preparation for much more time indoors due to restrictions that are coming...

...the boys and I played as if nothing else is going on in the world except the building of a fort in their room here!

Since these cousins normally live life apart from each other (except for occasional visits between Czech and Albania), this is really special to get time with each other, even just doing normal life things, like eating snacks together!

I love that they love hanging out with each other!

Because of our recent travels, JV marriage retreat, sickness and Jenna's birth, I haven't gotten to see Judah and Asher much this past month. So I'm loving today as much as they are!

I couldn't stop thinking about how peaceful it was inside Tyler and Lara's home this morning, and how chaotic it is outside in the great big world who is in crisis right now and trying to figure out what to do.

While we sure don't want to have our heads in the sand and ignore what's going on (we are not!), I also don't want to lose perspective on the most important things - the things that are important to Jesus. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness, gentleness, self control...not to mention trust, rest, holiness and seeking His Kingdom above all.

As I watched Charlie fall asleep for his nap back at our house in the afternoon, I couldn't move from the chair that's just next to him.

I sat there and didn't move for two hours, mesmerized by the picture of peace he was as he slept! He's not worried about anything, he feels completely secure, he's able to sleep because he knows someone is watching over him.

That's how I want to live these next days, weeks and months. Trusting in our God, who is sovereign over all, even over a virus threatening our world.

I'm thankful to have little ones around me these days, to remind me to live with their kind of childlike faith!