Blessings in disguise

As I sit here still basking in the glory of this day, I felt compelled to write it down. Amidst the normal everyday duties of motherhood and the sad news of a family member not feeling well, God shined today.
I spent this day not doing household chores or even work, but rather praying for my father in law and enjoying my life the way that it is TODAY. And, great things happened as they often do when I spend my day this way. Bob's dad is being discharged from the hospital with no major complications found, praise God! And, as we do each Friday, we spoke to our girl!
However, today was even more special and exciting. Rachel, who has been missing Lilie like crazy became very upset last night when our impending phone call was mentioned. Not surprisingly, as this has become a source of frustration for her every week. With the 7 hour time difference, we always call in the morning. Calling after school would mean waking everyone over there up out of a deep sleep! So, Rachel has missed every conversation only to hear about them from us later. Not today! Today, we decided that she should stay home from school until after our phone call. She was elated! And so it is that our girls were able to hear one another's voices for the first time in over two months...
Lilie has also been asking about Rachel you see. "How is Rachel?" "What is Rachel doing?" "What is she playing?" Etc and so on... It was so fun to hear them giggling and chattering back and forth on the phone. Lilie (with the help of a translator) wanted to know why Rachel was home, what time is it there, what are you doing tomorrow, Rachel, no school????? And, Rachel, all she wanted to hear and say was "I love you and miss you, big, big, big!" When we were getting ready to head out the door to school afterward, she said, "Mom, she sounds even cuter on the phone then in person!" That girl went to school with the biggest smile on her face. 
We are so excited that we are going to be hosting Lilie again this summer. While we would love to know that she never has to leave again, we are thankful for the opportunity to make memories with her and get to know her even more this summer. This time, when she gets on that plane, we will know with certainty that it's just a "see you later"! And, we pray that it will not be long until we are on a plane flying to her! Sometimes the things that are the biggest disappointments turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Our hopes of traveling in the summer slipped out the window a little over a week ago and we were devastated. But, we have chosen to rejoice in this opportunity to see her and hug her and bond with her through hosting. That's what we're going to do! In God's time, we will have her here forever...