Flying Fox Bats

Amelia loves to learn. Her drive to learn is super strong, and I know that I've seen one of those checklists before where they talk about smart kids versus gifted kids, and I'm pretty sure she is gifted. She loves to learn and she loves to find out facts, and she takes a topic and studies it and asks questions and acts things out and writes stories and checks out books and wants to google everything! And she asks and learns and absorbs and researches and fact finds and strives to find out everything she can about a topic. As a speech and language therapist, and an educator in the public school system, this thrills me! I love her thirst for knowledge! I love that she doesn't settle for what she learns in school. I love that she questions things and wants to go above and beyond the topic to find out more information. As a mom? This also thrills me...except for when it's 8:30 at night and it's supposed to be our one more thing mommy moment before she drifts off to sleep and she really needs to google the flying fox bat. The conversation started off innocently enough. "Hey mommy...just one more thing, please?" "OK, Amelia...just one more thing." "Guess what we talked about in Ms. D's class today?" "What?" "Guess! You have two guesses." "Um...math?" "Nope! Well, actually...yes, we did odd and even...but that's not what I'm trying to get you to guess!" "OK...how to ride a bike?" "Mommy, now you're being silly! We talked about bats!" "Like baseball bats?" "Ugh! Mommy! I'm trying to be serious!" "Oh, sorry..." "Did you know there are a whole bunch of different bats? Like fruit bats? And bee bats? And flying fox bats?" When a six-year-old with some k/g misarticulations and r misarticulations says "flying fox bat" it sound suspiciously close to "flying farts bat" which I asked her if that was what she said. Giggling hysterically, "Mommy! Do you seriously think God would make something called a flying farts bat? I said flying FOX bat...like the animal that is in the same family as the dog...like F-O-X...fox..." "Oh, sorry...I guess I don't know my bats very well." "Well, I guess you don't. Guess what my favorite part about bats are?" "What?" "They are nocturnal! I wish we were nocturnal!" "You do!?" "Yes...I think it would be fun to sleep during the day, and play and go to school at night. It would be fun. Actually, nevermind...it wouldn't. That would be terrible. I need dark to sleep...and quiet...and dinner..." Laughing at her and shaking my head, "Good night, Amelia..." "Wait, mommy! I need you to google that!" "No, Amelia! It's 8:30 and you need to be asleep! We took too long doing our reading and now we're late for bed!" "Please, mommy! I want to show you the flying fox bat!" "No, Amelia!" "But, mommy! You have to google it and look at him! Did you know that they have a six foot wingspan?" "No, Amelia...we need...wait, what? The bat has a six-foot wingspan?" She sits up straight and grins at me. "Yup! They can! They're the biggest bats in the world. Wanna see? All you have to do is google it!" She knows me...and she got me. I sat on the edge of her bed with my iPhone and googled "flying fox bat" and sure enough, those suckers are HUGE! It was fascinating to see the bats and how large they were. There were videos of one at a zoo. There was a video of one that was dead and stretched out to show it's wingspan. There was a video of a fight between a flying fox bat and a crow. Very fascinating. And before I know it, Amelia and I are laughing and talking about the bat and how interesting it is. And creepy...they are pretty creepy and I'm very glad that, according to Amelia, they only live in southern Asian countries because I might not like having bats the size of bald eagles in our area. After she sucked me into a few more videos I stand up and tell her it's past time for bed. She smiles at me, tells me I'm the coolest mommy ever and thanks me for letting her teach me about the bats. I laugh and tell her that I'm glad she shared with me. As she snuggles down into her pillow she laughs and says, "Hey, mommy...maybe you should google flying farts bats..." "Goodnight, Amelia!" "Goodnight, mommy...oh, just one more thing! You said they were creepy. I think they are interesting and I don't think that anyone should think they are creepy! I don't think any animal is creepy, you know why? Because God made all of the animals and even the creepy ones have a purpose, right?" "You're right, my smart girl! I love you so much! Now, good night!!" And once again, my daughter shares with me a last minute lesson in life because she is 100% correct! God has a purpose for everything...animal or not, there is a purpose...there is a lesson. There is something interesting or fascinating about everything in life. Even the trials and tribulations that we face! It's hard to notice those purposes as we're right in the middle of those moments, but there is a purpose. When I look back on the last few years, I know that I was stuck in the sorrow and heartache of what was going on in the moment. I wasn't looking for the lesson. I wasn't looking for God's purpose in that moment. I didn't care! I didn't think that He was possibly using this to teach me something, or to bring me something better! I didn't know. All I knew what my heart was broken. My family was reeling. My friends were trying hard to hold everything together for us. But it wasn't working. And then, through all of the bad, came good! There are so many blessings that I have seen as I have worked through this process. And although I'm still learning and weaving my way through life, I know that God has a purpose. God had a reason for bringing those trials into my life. And I may never fully understand them, but I don't have to! All I need to know is that God has a purpose. God has a plan! God has a story written for me and my girls and He knows exactly where we are going and where we are supposed to be. God created us, and He led us to this mess, and He will lead us through the mess and right out the other side. We only need to pause for just a moment and try and find the beauty in the situation. It's there! After everything started unravelling in life, I clung to quotes. The day after everything began, my sister texted me a picture and it said, "We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." and that quote struck me...I knew there was a message there that I would one day appreciate. It didn't come to me right away, but the quote kept finding it's way back to me and I wrote it down everytime I saw it. I knew there was a message there that I would see someday. In the last couple weeks, this quote has come back around to me and reading it this time brought it to a whole new meaning. I had to lose what I lost, and I had to go through what I went through in order to make me into the person that I am today! And I think that's true for all of us! Whether we experience death or loss or ill health or hard times, we are all taking steps (or being led by our heavenly Father) through life with a purpose! And as hard as that path might get, we need to remember that purpose! Even if we don't know the purpose, we have to know that there is indeed a purpose! And it will be revealed to us someday, in His time! He makes everything beautiful! And I can see that so clearly right now. I see our purpose! I see my purpose! And I know that even if life is creepy, like the flying fox bat, that God created it, so that creepiness goes away! So, do me a favor...hang in there! Wait for your purpose because it's there! Be willing to let go, no matter how scary that may seem. Oh, and just one more thing...google the flying fox bat because...seriously...six foot wingspan...