Wednesday, March 30, 2011 was seemingly like any other day
but I woke a little earlier than normal, wide awake thinking about Easter and
this pressing desire for me to really share the Easter story with Mason this
year along with my upcoming women’s retreat and meditating on the scripture for
the weekend 2Corintihians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new
creation, the old has gone the new has come.”
Our children come into the world seeming so innocent, so
pure and as they grow so does the sin that they are born with. I’m so thankful that Christ died to take the
chains of sin for us, but how do you explain this to your child, your four year
old? How do you get him to grasp the concept and real meaning of the scripture
he loves to quote so proudly reminding you that he has hidden Gods word in his
heart every time he says, “Mommy do you want to hear my Bible Verse”…I love that he already knows that Gods word
is personal just for him if for no one else!
He stands, sometimes fidgeting, sometimes looking you in the eye but it’s
very clear he’s proud as he proceeds with, “For God so loved the world that he
sent is only one son, that whoever believes in him, shall not perish, but have
eternal life. John 3:16” I love it! He’s
been saying that verse over and over for a while now…but you have to wonder
does he understand what it means? That
God sent his son to the world for him. Will he get the fact that Jesus took his
sins and died so that he doesn’t have to? But that’s something I think we get too caught
up in as parents…where does the Bible say everyone must understand everything
about God before they can accept him as their personal savior? NO, the Bible says anyone who believes in me
shall be saved. Salvation is God’s gift,
I don’t know anyone more ready to receive a gift than a child, he extends his
hands ready to take the gift without wondering what he needs to do to earn it.
Jack and Sam Catoe came over to play today while their mom
went to a meeting. It is rainy and yucky
outside so I thought making cookies would be a fun activity, the boys were all
into it and while they ate their cookies I read them an Easter Book, “The First
Easter” that I had just purchased from the Christian
bookstore for Mason and Micah this week. While I was reading it Jack and Sam sat
silently listening and looking while Mason asked questions at almost every
page. At first I was a little annoyed at
his questions and was just thinking…,”goodness son, just let me read the story”
but, answered his questions, after all, isn’t this the reason I bought the
book? To invoke conversation about why we celebrate Easter? So the Story begins
along with the questions and I mean when he started with the questions they
kept on coming and he would hardly wait for me to answer him:
The book begins
with the camels carrying the Magi as they bring gifts to baby Jesus. –Mason-
“is that the star that is showing them where to go? And where is their gold and
franksis and myrrh?“
The next page
talks of how Jesus preformed miracles- Mason- “mommy why are those kids
smiling, are they happy because Jesus healed them? Is he going to hug them? How come the pages
of this book don’t show us Jesus face? When will I get to see Jesus face, when
I go to Heaven?
Then the book
moves on to Palm Sunday. – Mason, with his proud face beaming- “Mommy I know a
verse about this from AWANAs, “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of
the Lord”
Jesus is in the
temple- “Mommy why are they doing something they shouldn’t have been doing and
why are they mad when Jesus tells them to stop doing what they shouldn’t have
been doing anyway?” “What? why would
they want to get rid of Jesus?” “Why
would they think they could Trick Jesus, Jesus never did anything wrong, he is
the only person who never sinned, Jesus and God don’t do wrong things”
As soon as I
turned the page and it revealed three temple leaders and priests Mason said,
“Oh look how sad they look, are they whispering are they making a plan?” Why were they afraid of Jesus? he only does good things”
Passover Meal
where Jesus breaks the bread and passes the wine-“mommy Jesus never runs out of
things, he always will have enough food for you to eat, if he can feed 5000
people he can feed you, and Mommy did you know that Jesus turned water into
wine at a wedding, I have an idea, maybe onetime when I ask you for water you
could give me my favorite drink instead!?!”
The Garden to
Pray and Soldiers come with spears and torches- “Mommy look that picture looks
like Jesus is holding the moon, his hands are bigger than the moon, I guess
Gods hands really are bigger than the moon if he made the moon. Why were they all sleeping if Jesus was
praying? Why didn’t his disciples help protect him?”
Jesus before
Caiaphas and Pilate- Mason-“Look how sharp those thorns look, I wish they
wouldn’t have done that to Jesus, but he knew it was going to happen, he had to
do it, Jesus had to get hurt and die on the cross for our sins so we could go
to heaven”
Believe it or not there were a few more questions before the
books end but I love how he was connecting the dots and understanding the story! After the cookies and story time they wanted
to make something else so I quickly searched for a salt dough recipe and let
them play with salt dough they were asking me what they could make and we ended
up making tombs and a Hill and crosses and Mason was so excited and said, “now
I can tell the story! He said come on
Jack do you want to tell the story, it’s the greatest story ever told!” I got some popsicle sticks and let them make
some wooden crosses to stick in their hills and Mason began: “Jesus came as a baby and did great things
and turned water to wine, and fed a lot of people and said peace be still to a
storm and he came to town riding a donkey and people waved palm branches and
said, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Then soldiers
came and arrested him and he had to carry his cross and they hung him on the
cross with nails in his hands and feet and thorns on his head and he died and
they took him down and put him in a cave, tomb, grave and rolled the stone and
1, 2, 3 days later the stone rolled away and Jesus rose from the dead and went
to heaven to make a place for me, a really big house!”
Jack and Sam went home and Mason told me and Micah the story
again and then said, “Mommy I want to ask Jesus into my heart!” I said, “okay,
well when Daddy comes home we will talk to him about it” He said, “No I mean,
right now, I want to ask Jesus into my heart right now!” I said “okay” and before I could do anything
Mason raised both hands, dropped to his knees and said, “Jesus will you come
into my heart” Micah ran over to him thinking Mason was in the position to want
to be hugged and tackled and knocked him over with a ‘Micah hug and kiss’ (one
of my favorite things to see them do, such sweet brothers) and I said that that’s probably what Jesus is
doing right now too, wrapping his arms around you smiling giving you kisses and
hugs and all the angels are celebrating too saying, welcome to the family of
God Mason! Micah hugged him, and the boys rolled around on the floor and Mason
said, “Micah when you get bigger you can ask Jesus into your heart too, right
mommy?!” To which I replied,” I sure hope and pray he does!” I put Micah down for a nap and Mason said,
“you wait right here mommy, I want to go get my Bible” I sat, smiling beaming
with pride and joy overwhelmed that the savior of the world had revealed
himself to my little boy at such an early age!
Mason and I read his Bible and continued to ask questions and he stopped
me at one point and said, “it makes Jesus happy that we are reading the Bible,
this is how we can get to know him, but I want to see his face, has anyone ever
seen his face other than Moses? And
Mommy, Jesus is with God his father but who was his daddy here when he was a
baby?” I told him Joseph was his earthly father and he said “yeah Chris is my
earthly father, and I love him infinity times” I was about to tell him that God
was his Heavenly father but Mason beat me to it…he said, “And God is my father
too right? In Heaven! And he was finished making a house for Paw Paw and I
think hes almost ready for Grammy and then Mawmaw, and one day he’ll be ready
for me too!” Our conversation ended with
a prayer and Mason repeated after me as we thanked God that Mason knew he was a
sinner in need of Gods salvation and that from this point on he forever would
have Jesus in his heart as his best friend!
You know the “adult” came out in me feeling the need to “make it
official” by saying a “repeat after me prayer”.
So now, a few hours later from my early waking I am still
meditating on Easter and the awesome gift of Life and salvation that we have in
Christ and 2 Cor 5:17 The old has gone
the new has come if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation! I know this is the first step in the journey
of faith for Mason, but I am so excited to watch him grow and learn and ask
MORE questions as God forms his little heart into a new creation! I know he will need to be discipled but I am
releasing the pressure that I have put on myself to reveal God to my
children…that’s the Holy Spirits job, He will do it He will reveal himself to
them I am just blessed to be alongside them on this journey! The best thing I can do for them is continue
to allow God to remove the old stuff in my life so that I too can become a new
creation!
