Faith of a Child

As a Christian parent, there is no greater mission than to demonstrate a Christian life for your kids...in hopes that one day, they will choose to enter into a personal relationship with Him. I have to admit, it's hard to know how much of our kids "faith" is of their own desire...or just a habit from what they see in Craig and me. In the middle of the night last night, I heard Jacob creep into our bedroom and squeeze his way between Craig and me. Just as he buried himself beneath the covers, I heard him whisper, "Mommy?" "What Jacob?" Anyone else would've picked up on my annoyed tone of voice, but Jacob wasn't phased by my groggy irritation. "I've been having bad dreams all night and I'm scared." "You're fine. Just go back to sleep." (Sympathetic mother, huh?) "Will you pray with me?" I have to admit, this went straight to my heart! I thought, how often do we deal with struggles and fears in our everyday life? How often is God the first person we go to for comfort? I usually go to Craig, then my mom or dad, then a friend. As much as I hate to admit it, God's usually the last one I turn to. And here I am, being schooled by my 4-year-old. "Sure. Let's pray. Do you want me to pray or do you want to?" "Can we both pray? I'll go first." And so he proceeded... "Jesus, thank you for my mommy & daddy. Thank you for our warm beds. Please take away my scary dreams. Take them away and help me sleep good. I love you Jesus. Amen." Last night, Jacob was the teacher and I was the student. I guess I got a glimpse into why Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matthew 19:14). What a beautiful thing to have faith like a child!