Joel and Jesus

Yesterday Joel was having a "bad" morning - not listening, whining, four-year-old stuff. During Bible time while the music was playing and Elijah and I were listening to God and praying and drawing what He showed us, Joel was laying on the couch angry. Every time I prayed that he would know how much Jesus loves him he would scrunch his eyebrows and turn his head away. Normally during time with God, Joel sings and dances and prays and draws, so something was really bothering him. As I was praying, I quietly grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil (which Elijah sweetly sharpened for me) and began to draw as best as I could a big red heart and inside the heart a picture of Jesus smiling, holding a little boy who was looking up into Jesus' face with a big grin. The boys both intently watched me as I drew and both were eager to know who the boy in the picture was. After the drawing was done, I wrote Jesus and Joel inside the heart. When Joel saw he was the little boy in the picture he said It's ME! and then moved on to do something else. A few minutes later though he quietly took the picture, hid beside the couch and for five minutes sat and studied it. When he came out, he began to scribble on a piece of paper, then with a smile looked up and me and said Mom, that's the love of God.

This scenario could be played out one hundred times in different ways, because if there is one area that the enemy targets especially in kids it is to steal the knowing that God absolutely loves them. It is a constant battle over my kids, not that they behave, not that they act perfectly, but that they know God and His love for them. Because when our kids know Him He will give them the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him. An added bonus is that when they feel loved by Him they are happy - and there's nothing much sweeter than a happy kid.