A Spring of Joy

This morning as I pulled out our Children’s Bible, I teased my boys in my best Aussie accent (yes, I am a dork), “Oh, we’ve reached the part about Jesus’ birth. We don’t need to read that! It was just Christmas.”

Smiling back at me, Bear yelled, “NO!”

And Ash said, “You can’t skip parts of the Bible, Mom, we need all of it.”

Really? Why?

I love my Bear’s heart, “Because, Mom, it never gets old.”

Later on as we read about Herod killing all the babies in Bethlehem, I could tell Ash was really chewing on that. He talked about what it must have been like for those families that lost babies. (I love that tender heart.)

“But, Mom!” Bear shook His head, “Jesus couldn’t die!”

Really? Why?

He grinned, “Because He needed to live perfectly, so He could die later for me.”

Her voice floated through my open bedroom door from the boys’ room yesterday, “OH, Whaley!” she cried, “They-ah you ahhh! I pwomised Micah I’d take cay-ah of you, and I couldn’t find you and I didn’t.” I peaked in on her and found her cuddling the stuffed whale in her arms, smoothing her hand down it’s back. “I’m so sowwy, Whaley. I’m just so sowwy. I didn’t do what I pwomised.”

She turned and I saw a sparkle of tears in her eyes, and I bent down to her and hugged her. “It’s going to be okay, Mommy, because I know Micah will fow-give me.”

Oh that sweet, beautiful, wonderful girl!

I have so much to learn from her:

She takes her words seriously.

She promised. She didn’t come through. She knew that was a big deal.

She immediately admitted she had failed and later admitted that failure to Micah.

But she found peace in forgiveness.

I love that she knows her brother’s heart so well that she knew he’d readily forgive.

And I find myself asking,

“Am I quick to admit faults and failures and mistakes? Or do I figure out a way to cover it over or excuse it or blame someone else?”

“Do I know my Father’s heart so well that there is peace in kneeling before him and finding forgiveness?”

I am always learning, and these little ones are often the tool God uses.

How I need my children to push me beyond myself and preach the Gospel to me daily!

It never gets old.