What happens in a house full of girls on the last weekend before school is out for the summer? A LOT of girls ministry...not planned...not organized...but more ministry than this mom was prepared for in one weekend.
It all started around 4:00 pm on Friday and my head is still spinning! The short version is 7 girls ages 8-14 spending the night (and yes they were all there at 2:00 am..and 3:45 am...), 8 girls for breakfast the next morning (don't even ask me how the extra one got in Saturday morning), 3 pizzas, 137 cupcakes, 4 sets of clothes covered in paint, a new pair of contact lenses, and about 1,000 extra miles on my car! Okay maybe the mileage is an exaggeration, but trust me when I say, "public transportation might be a good thing to add in a 10 mile radius around my home."
In the midst of the craziness there were incredible opportunities for girls ministry. One of my daughter's friends who spent the night on Friday moves to California next week. We talked about friendship--keeping friends even though you don't live near one another, making new friends, choosing good friends, living in a new place, going to a new school. Several of the girls don't have a relationship with Jesus or don't have a church home. Except for my daughters, only ONE other girl lives with both her mom and dad. The conversations were natural and endless.
And so hopefully ministry happened even when we were not aware of what we were doing! Hopefully, we loved beyond our ability to love and all these girls could see a difference in our lives and in our relationships (1 John 4:7).
After this weekend, once again, I am so thankful for those in Girls' Ministry. Thankful for all the believers who welcome my girls into their homes. Thankful for the women at my church who invest in my girls and their friends each week. And especially thankful for Girls' Ministers and Student Ministers who are planning and preparing camps, retreats, mission trips, and other worthwhile activities for my girls to be involved in this summer while I recover from this weekend!
I am grateful that your house is a safe place where girls feel comfortable being themselves. That is so critical!