Where else would I be?

Do you ever find yourself complaining about everything?

...................But not just complaining about one specific area but complaining throughout the whole day?


Recently I have caught myself grunting about living and working in China, saying statements such as:

"Why can't Tyler (autistic boy) realize it is ok to pet our dog Stevie?"
"Can't Vincent just for once not cry during a therapy session?"
"Ugh, Macy did not just not just slobber all over my arm?"
"Why do I not speak Chinese and have the therapy aides make fun of me for using it?"

As you can see, I realize how much these negative comments can take over the reason I am here. I get so focused on the negativity that I forgot that these complaints are actually reasons I love being here:

 I love the opportunity of playing with Tyler for thirty minutes. It is such a great session to be able to just let him be independent in his world while trying to pull him into our world.

Even though Vincent can be a handful to work with since he is irritable, I love the moments where he will surprise me in therapy. Like just the other day, he was trying to scoot himself to a toy. Oh and when he smiles, it totally brightens my day. :)

I love the opportunity to work with Macy. She has a tendency to hit herself when she feels scared or nervous. For several of our therapy sessions, I have taken off her arm bands and just held her close to have her resist hitting her face. Our therapy session on Friday, she fell asleep in my arms. It was quite adorable and I totally wish someone took a picture of it!!

And for the language part, it is an area where I have been trusting the Lord in. He definitely has shown me I need to be learning this language. One of my good friends though has been spending time with me to learn some keys phrases to help with therapy. Love you Sara! One day I will be fluent in Chinese but as of right now, I need to just take it one phrase at a time.

God has brought me here for reasons I still don't know yet. Yes, I can complain about it and wish I was in the comfort of America. But where is the adventure in that? The Lord wants me here for the summer and the truth of the matter is this:

There is no place I would rather be but here.
Melissa