Superheroes

The cape arrived the day before we needed it. 

Sophia's grandparents had packed a Halloween costume in their suitcase and were staying for a week while Joshua was in Michigan for a business trip.

The next day I went downstairs to move the laundry to the dryer and found smelly water pouring onto the floor from a pipe. It was 9:30 at night and I called my husband who encouraged me to call our pastor. I protested that "he is our pastor, not our plumber" but was reminded that he was also our friend (and knows quite a bit about plumbing). 

Not only did he come right over that evening, but he spent the majority of his day off repairing our plumbing, and entertaining our two year old in the aisles of the hardware store while I made purchases that he helped to inform. When we offered to pay him for his work, he insisted that it go to the Ugandan mission workers that would be staying with us that weekend (who would now also have working toilets thanks to him).

My friend Beckie moved to Uganda several years ago and met and married Ruudy there. They work daily with people in their country who continue to recover from decades of civil war. They joined us for our ten year reunion this past Saturday. Our first stop was to visit a favorite professor. She encouraged us to come back after we went to our reunion activities on campus. 

There was a crib for Sophia to take a nap and dinner when she woke up. I felt self-conscious when I began to smell the food cooking as I thought that we were imposing on their family dinner time...I had no idea she was making it for us. She never mentioned that she was expecting family from out of state that arrived moments later. She just kept on serving whomever walked in her door.

We are grateful for all of the superheroes in our lives that inspire us to 'love bigger' in the everyday opportunities life affords. The ones mentioned above each emulate the two goals we have for our daughter: to love God, and to serve others (no cape required).