Sunday In London

This was my favorite day.  Not because of something we did or saw, although that was part of it, but because of the way that the Lord spoke to my heart on this day.

You see, I suffer from a great deal of "mommy guilt."  A fine example of that can be found here.  I know all parents do.  We worry because we work.  Or, we worry because we don't work.  We worry because we homeschool.  Or, we worry because we don't homeschool.  We worry because our kid has to share a room with their sibling.  We worry because we went through the drive thru a few too many times this week.  We worry because we sell all of our stuff, move our kids half way around the world, and plop them smack-dab into the center of another world!

Yeah.. the guilt is large!

But, all along the Lord, my gentle father, has whispered to my heart, "It is ok.  These kids don't need Little League, they need parents who love ME and are willing to follow ME.  Even when it hurts."

I hear it.  He has to say it often, to be perfectly honest.  But, its hard to really feel it.  I know it in my head and I really do believe that we have given our kids a gift.

But, sometimes... just sometimes, I let the lies tell me otherwise.

"Your kids are going to be the weird ones."

"Your kids will be poorly educated."

"Your kids won't get a taste of real friendship on any continent."

"You are ruining your kids lives."

The lies, they creep in and take siege of my mind.  And, all of the sudden, I am overwhelmed and sad for my kids.

Again the Father whispers, "You are blessing your kids.  All they need is ME and you are showing them how to live for ME.  Have courage.  Trust ME."

And my heart settles down again and believes.

So, this post was supposed to be about London.  So, this is where I will tie it all together...

Justin thought it would be fun to take the kids to a play on Sunday.  I was so busy fretting over learning how to curtsey properly for the queen that I forgot that London is the epi-center of fabulous theatre!  Justin bought us tickets to the Sunday Matinee of The Lion King.

But first, let me tell you how the day started.  Remember that by the time we reached London, Justin had be away from us for two weeks.  That means TWO WEEKS of being a single mom.

HARD!  EXHAUSTING!  IN MUCH NEED OF TIME BY MYSELF!

So Justin sent me out shopping while he got the kids up, ready, fed, and took them to the park.

Have I told you lately that I love this man?

I do.

I arrived back at our little inn refreshed, happy, and a few quid lighter.  (That's British slang for pounds sterling.)  We quickly regrouped, and headed to the train station.

We loved the train.  A quick, fun way to get from place to place.

We were worried that we were running a bit late, and didn't know exactly where the theatre was.  So instead of taking the Tube we took a taxi from Waterloo Train Station to the Theatre.

We got there in plenty of time.  Here are the kids before the show.  They didn't know what to expect.  And weren't very excited about going.  Justin and I were so excited.

There was no photography during the show.  So this is the best I could get.  Our seats were sort of way up high.  But once the play started it didn't matter at all.

And this is where God spoke to my heart.  Unfortunately, I am sort of a slow learner.  In addition to that, I'm also a visual learner.  So the Lord had to SHOW me what He has been saying to me all along.  During the play I looked over at my kids.  They were on the edge of their seats.  There were entranced.  Their eyes were as big as saucers.  Lucy was bopping to the beat.  Callie's lips were moving with the words.  They were singing the songs that the recognized form the movie.

When I looked at them, my heart filled with joy.  And the Lord whispered, "If you were not where you are in the world, you would have never had this opportunity.  It is because you've followed ME that you are here.  And look at how blessed your children are."

I saw it.  And I felt it. 

This moment, this precious time together as a family, is worth more than the house, minivan, and schools that we left behind.

They don't need Little League, or even fancy plays in London.  They just need Jesus.  And who is going to tell them about Him if it's not me?

Amen.

To officially make this the longest post of all time, I will show you the rest of the pictures from our night.

After the play we walked through the most lovely outdoor market area.  Justin, Noah, and Lucy watched a street performer while I took Callie into Crabtree & Evelyn.  That girl loves to sniff things, so we were busy for quite a while.  She washed her hands no less than ten times.  That's about 7 times more than her yearly average!

We just sort of sauntered along with no real destination.  

We ended up on Regent Street.  It is one of the super fancy shopping districts.

I didn't care too much about the shops.  But the buildings were AMAZING.

We were in search of traditional English pub food.  Unfortunately most of the pubs don't allow children in for dinner.  So, it took us a bit of searching to find a place.

Finally we found a pub that welcomed families.  Justin got fish and chips.

I got Shepard's Pie.  Callie got chili which was served over rice.

(Noah got pizza and Lucy got mac & cheese.  Not picture worthy!)

For the third day in a row, our legs were aching by the end of the night.  But our hearts were full!