A Babysitting Job That Became More Than What God Had Intended For Me

Hi, I am Diana. For my trip this year, I went to babysit my four month old niece, Claire, and her parents, Nick and Oana, in Houston. In this trip, I remembered who I was and what I was capable of. Whenever I first arrived in Houston, I was ecstatic to see Claire for the very first time! She was gorgeous. After a couple of days of waking up and dealing with a cranky baby, I also realized what many 16 year olds don't realize. I realized how hard it was to raise a child. I always knew I wanted a child whenever I got married, but I didn't realize that it would be this hard!(I only babysitted for half of the day. I wasn't doing all of the work!) By the end of the first week, I had gotten the hang of it, but one thing I didn't expect was to feel and hear god's word go through me.

That Sunday at church, I was listening to a boy, about my age, talk about how god changed him and his perspective towards life. I felt as if he was telling me that this feeling is possible, and you can feel it! So I did, I let it flow through me. I closed my eyes and began to worship. The pastor soon began to preach, and whenever he did, I could see the image of god in my head. Something I have never seen before. All I had to do was close my eyes and experience it. I had never had that type of connection with him; I felt as if he was holding my hand telling me that everything was going to be okay. His presence was distinctive. Whenever we came back home, I started to think about how god had helped me. In the simplest words, he guided me through thick and thin.

The following week we had all gone out to a local hangout spot in Houston, the Woodlands Market Street. While walking around we had bumped into some of the other youth from the church. Whenever I talked to them, I had realized what true friends were. I loved the way they made me think about how life should be. The next thing I knew, we had scheduled a youth volleyball day. In Houston, you don't really think of it raining, but on that day it did… Our luck I guess! Instead of playing in the sun, we played in the church. The church had a backroom that we had access to, so it made the night interesting. We waited out the storm in the chuch, and we also played some card games and indoor dodgeball! That night was one of the most interesting nights I had been to in a long time.

Soon enough, after being with my sister, my trip ended. We left one morning at 5 am. I didn't get to give Claire a hug before I left, but I did get an everlasting picture. I didn't know how much that trip impacted me, until this day, whenever I began to replay my memories. I know that this trip was not the most exotic trip, but it was one of the most imortant! Of course I could have told you about how I went to see the Galleria and downtown in Texas, but none of that really mattered in the end. All that matters is what I will carry with me for the rest of my life. The spectacular memories with Claire, and my walk with God!