Loving others

As I have mentioned before, we have very little space in our room where we are staying. The kids and I usually stay back when my husband goes off with the rest of the team, but I can't be stuck in our room, and if the baby is napping we have to be somewhere else. I usually take the two older kids downstairs to a community room and attempt to do some schoolwork with my daughter. The downstairs room is accessible from the street and open on three sides. A mentally handicapped woman and her daughter live very near the base and often come around. Any of you who have been around an 18-month old (especially mine), understand that the morning nap is coveted time. You don't want to talk to anyone. I always think it will be a time when I can relax and hang out with the older two. However, as soon as I get downstairs with the two older kids and sit down with my drink, the lady and her daughter see my kids downstairs and come over. Not only do you not want to talk to anyone during the morning nap time, you really don't want to attempt to communicate in a language that you can't speak. I caught myself feeling so negative when she came over the other day. Fortunately the Lord convicted me very quickly and showed me His heart and love for her. This is exactly the type of person that Jesus wants me to love and serve. As the Bible says, "Whatever you have done unto the least of these, you have done unto me." It is a privilege to be able to love her and mumble a few words of Thai with her, give her a pair of earrings that I am making, teach Jordan to share her colors with the daughter, eat our snacks with them. I can actually serve and love Jesus by loving her.
It is so easy to get annoyed because we have a schedule, we have our time, we want a break from people, we are at the end of our patience with our kids, etc. It is sometimes difficult to push beyond those annoyances and our selfishness to love other people, but it is always so much more rewarding to love others and Jesus