One on One

Aren’t you glad that God is a jealous God? Doesn’t that provoke some sort of childish selfish happiness to burst out? I am constantly amazed at God’s ability to give us each individual attention: amazed at how he is listening when I call him, comforts me when I cry out to him and though I try to complain how it can get lonely living with many kids in a different country away from my loved ones and comforts he always whispers, “but, I’m here.”

This type of “one on one “ relationship with God, away from all the noise, has been absolutely necessary for me in my Christian walk.
I believe God made us to be relational, remember in the Garden of Eden after he made Adam he realized he was lonely, then came Eve. From that matrimony came many other types of relationships.

While at Douglas, I begin to check what kind of relationships my girls had: they had friends, teachers, adults who told them what to do, and some sort of family member they saw once a month (at best).

Who were they learning about life from? And it dawned on me…

NO ONE!

There had to be a space where they could ask questions and express themselves.

So, learning from the creator of the universe, I began my “one on one.” Once a week I have a separate time with each girl. I open up the floor to talk about the taboo subjects they were once taught never to mention. One girl was curious about how her body is changing (thank you mom for teaching me these things, who knew I would once teach them!). One girl was in tears because she had no father and mother and another about how much she missed her sisters. We’ve discussed how adults (like teachers) can sometimes be unjust and how to make friends.

Most of the time we pray together. One night I opened my eyes a little to see if my girl was really praying or just playing. I saw: squeezed tight eyes, mouth moving rapidly and heard little whispers from that mouth that once told me “GO BACK TO AMERICA WE DON’T WANT YOU HERE!”

I thought, “I could die now, I’ve seen a miracle!”

Not only is our relationship growing, but their relationship with God is also growing.

Have you gotten your "one on one" today with Him today?

Anna Valdez