As parents, we pray for our children. We pray for them before they are ever created and then we pray them through the pregnancy. After they are born, we pray for their health and for their safety. We pray for their hopes and dreams. We pray for their teachers, their friends, their siblings. We pray for their future spouses and for the people that will cross their paths in life and change their lives in one way or another. We pray for them when they are sick; when they are sad and when they are happy. We pray for ourselves as parents that we can be the best parent that our child can have....and that we never fail them or the Lord in raising them...
I have found that since the day that Zachary was born....my prayers for him are constantly running through my mind and I find myself praying for him without ceasing. And every time I look at his precious face...whether it be during dinner, or in the middle of the night because I woke up and needed to check on the boys, or right after I pick him up from school....I am overwhelmed with how much I am in love with my precious child and how humble I feel to know that God placed him in my hands....wow.
Well, of all the times that I have prayed for my sweet boys - never have I prayed harder than when praying for their salvation. Because you see, it doesn't matter how healthy he is, where he goes to school, who he will marry one day, etc.... In the grand scheme of things - all that will work out for the glory of God if Zachary comes to know Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior and if he develops a true relationship with Him. Well, praise the Lord -- that prayer has been answered!!
...
Zachary had been asking questions about heaven for a while and I had noticed that his questions were beginning to change. We went from being concerned with whether or not fruit snacks would be in heaven to whether or not his friends, etc would be there. Nathan and I have always wanted Zachary to come to us and to let him figure out everything at his own pace. Sometimes Zachary would ask one question and be done with the conversation, and some days he would want to talk about things for an hour...either way it was up to him on how long we talked. And my prayer during each question was "Lord, please don't let me mess this up!"
Well, on Thursday, October 14th - we entered into another conversation....here we go:
Z: Mom, you know how we have been talking about heaven and about how you go there after you die if you love Jesus.
M: Yes.
Z: Well I've been thinking. Why do you have to die to go to heaven?
M: Well Zachary, that is just the way that God has it set up right now. We are born and live on this Earth. But everyone has a day picked out that they are going to die....if that person loves Jesus and has Jesus in their heart, then they get to go to heaven. If they don't, then they don't go to heaven.
Z: Will there ever be a time when someone can go to heaven and not have to die?
M: Well, yes. The Bible talks about how one day, Jesus is going to come back to the Earth and blow a loud trumpet. When he does this, everyone who loves Jesus will go to heaven then -- and everyone who doesn't love Jesus will stay here.
Z: And the people who are left will just go on living on earth?
M: Yes, but you have to remember....everyone that was good and loved God will be gone. And the Bible talks about how things are going to get a little scary for the people who are left here...I was trying to be super careful with my words here because I didn't want to scare Zachary into any decisions...
Z: So let me get this right...I love Jesus and I believe in Him. But I know that I have never asked him to come into my heart and I have never told him that I am sorry for anything that I have done wrong...so if Jesus came back today and blew the trumpet - I would be left here, right?
M: Hesitantly answering...Yes Zachary, that is right.
Z: So if everyone that loves Jesus is gone....you, Daddy, Granny, Grandaddy, Peepaw, Grammie, everyone...if all of you are gone and I am left here, who would take care of me? I would be left all alone here to take care of myself?
....WOW. Talk about a heart breaking question! I paused....not really wanting to answer him because I knew what my answer would have to be.... You see, I did agree with him. I believe that once someone has reached that age of accountability -- and that age is different from person to person -- but once someone comes to the realization that they need Jesus in their life because they are a sinner, then yes -- whether you are five or fifty-five, you will be left behind if on the day of the rapture you are not a christian! But how do I tell my five year old that? So I answer...
M: You know what buddy? That isn't something that we need to worry about right now. Still not wanting to scare him. What we need to worry about is what you just said. You said that you love Jesus and that you believe in Him...but you also know that you have never asked Jesus to come into your heart or told Him that you are sorry for your sins. That is what we need to worry about. Because you see, if you come to that place that Jesus is in your heart -- you don't have to worry about what is going to happen after Jesus blows the trumpet -- because you will be in heaven with him and everyone else.
...And the conversation ended....
That night when I went to bed, after talking with Nate about it all, I had to have a stern conversation with God. :) You see, as a believer in Christ, I knew what the answer to my little boy's question was....but as a parent, that answer bothered me a great deal! God -- would you really come back before my children are saved? Would you really leave them here, even at the age of five, to defend themselves and take care of themselves? Please Lord, No! Do not do it -- Father, please wait! Let my children come to know you before you take us away..... My prayers as a parent continued....and I slept horribly that night thinking of everything.
The next day, Nathan and I were heading with the boys for our Chattanooga get away. We were all just riding along, playing "I Spy With My Little Eye" and singing "Old McDonald" when the conversation started back up again.
Z: Mom, remember what we were talking about yesterday about heaven and Jesus blowing the trumpet?
M: Yes.
Z: So let me get this straight. What do I have to do to have Jesus come into my heart?
M: Well Zachary, we've talked about this. What do you think you have to do?
Z: I just have to pray to Him...
M: Right, but what does your prayer need to be?
Z: I just have to tell Jesus that I love Him, that I believe in Him. I have to believe that he died on the cross and came back to life for me. I have to tell Him that I am sorry for the things I've done wrong and that I want to be a christian so that I can go to heaven one day?
M: Right, and you have to change your life to always live for Him and to tell others about how much you love Him and what he has done for you.
Z: And that's it? That's all I have to do?
M: That is it! Once you do that, Jesus is in your heart and then you need to get baptized.
Z: Well, then I guess I get to go to heaven now because that is exactly what I did last night after I went to bed!
STOP THE CAR!!!! WHAT???
Nate and I turned around and looked at him and I said:
I have found that since the day that Zachary was born....my prayers for him are constantly running through my mind and I find myself praying for him without ceasing. And every time I look at his precious face...whether it be during dinner, or in the middle of the night because I woke up and needed to check on the boys, or right after I pick him up from school....I am overwhelmed with how much I am in love with my precious child and how humble I feel to know that God placed him in my hands....wow.
Well, of all the times that I have prayed for my sweet boys - never have I prayed harder than when praying for their salvation. Because you see, it doesn't matter how healthy he is, where he goes to school, who he will marry one day, etc.... In the grand scheme of things - all that will work out for the glory of God if Zachary comes to know Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior and if he develops a true relationship with Him. Well, praise the Lord -- that prayer has been answered!!
...
Zachary had been asking questions about heaven for a while and I had noticed that his questions were beginning to change. We went from being concerned with whether or not fruit snacks would be in heaven to whether or not his friends, etc would be there. Nathan and I have always wanted Zachary to come to us and to let him figure out everything at his own pace. Sometimes Zachary would ask one question and be done with the conversation, and some days he would want to talk about things for an hour...either way it was up to him on how long we talked. And my prayer during each question was "Lord, please don't let me mess this up!"
Well, on Thursday, October 14th - we entered into another conversation....here we go:
Z: Mom, you know how we have been talking about heaven and about how you go there after you die if you love Jesus.
M: Yes.
Z: Well I've been thinking. Why do you have to die to go to heaven?
M: Well Zachary, that is just the way that God has it set up right now. We are born and live on this Earth. But everyone has a day picked out that they are going to die....if that person loves Jesus and has Jesus in their heart, then they get to go to heaven. If they don't, then they don't go to heaven.
Z: Will there ever be a time when someone can go to heaven and not have to die?
M: Well, yes. The Bible talks about how one day, Jesus is going to come back to the Earth and blow a loud trumpet. When he does this, everyone who loves Jesus will go to heaven then -- and everyone who doesn't love Jesus will stay here.
Z: And the people who are left will just go on living on earth?
M: Yes, but you have to remember....everyone that was good and loved God will be gone. And the Bible talks about how things are going to get a little scary for the people who are left here...I was trying to be super careful with my words here because I didn't want to scare Zachary into any decisions...
Z: So let me get this right...I love Jesus and I believe in Him. But I know that I have never asked him to come into my heart and I have never told him that I am sorry for anything that I have done wrong...so if Jesus came back today and blew the trumpet - I would be left here, right?
M: Hesitantly answering...Yes Zachary, that is right.
Z: So if everyone that loves Jesus is gone....you, Daddy, Granny, Grandaddy, Peepaw, Grammie, everyone...if all of you are gone and I am left here, who would take care of me? I would be left all alone here to take care of myself?
....WOW. Talk about a heart breaking question! I paused....not really wanting to answer him because I knew what my answer would have to be.... You see, I did agree with him. I believe that once someone has reached that age of accountability -- and that age is different from person to person -- but once someone comes to the realization that they need Jesus in their life because they are a sinner, then yes -- whether you are five or fifty-five, you will be left behind if on the day of the rapture you are not a christian! But how do I tell my five year old that? So I answer...
M: You know what buddy? That isn't something that we need to worry about right now. Still not wanting to scare him. What we need to worry about is what you just said. You said that you love Jesus and that you believe in Him...but you also know that you have never asked Jesus to come into your heart or told Him that you are sorry for your sins. That is what we need to worry about. Because you see, if you come to that place that Jesus is in your heart -- you don't have to worry about what is going to happen after Jesus blows the trumpet -- because you will be in heaven with him and everyone else.
...And the conversation ended....
That night when I went to bed, after talking with Nate about it all, I had to have a stern conversation with God. :) You see, as a believer in Christ, I knew what the answer to my little boy's question was....but as a parent, that answer bothered me a great deal! God -- would you really come back before my children are saved? Would you really leave them here, even at the age of five, to defend themselves and take care of themselves? Please Lord, No! Do not do it -- Father, please wait! Let my children come to know you before you take us away..... My prayers as a parent continued....and I slept horribly that night thinking of everything.
The next day, Nathan and I were heading with the boys for our Chattanooga get away. We were all just riding along, playing "I Spy With My Little Eye" and singing "Old McDonald" when the conversation started back up again.
Z: Mom, remember what we were talking about yesterday about heaven and Jesus blowing the trumpet?
M: Yes.
Z: So let me get this straight. What do I have to do to have Jesus come into my heart?
M: Well Zachary, we've talked about this. What do you think you have to do?
Z: I just have to pray to Him...
M: Right, but what does your prayer need to be?
Z: I just have to tell Jesus that I love Him, that I believe in Him. I have to believe that he died on the cross and came back to life for me. I have to tell Him that I am sorry for the things I've done wrong and that I want to be a christian so that I can go to heaven one day?
M: Right, and you have to change your life to always live for Him and to tell others about how much you love Him and what he has done for you.
Z: And that's it? That's all I have to do?
M: That is it! Once you do that, Jesus is in your heart and then you need to get baptized.
Z: Well, then I guess I get to go to heaven now because that is exactly what I did last night after I went to bed!
STOP THE CAR!!!! WHAT???
Nate and I turned around and looked at him and I said:
M: What? What did you say in your prayer?
Z: I told Jesus that I loved him and that I wanted to be a christian. I told him that I was sorry for the times that I don't obey you and daddy. I told him I was sorry for the time that I told daddy a lie and for the times when I am mean to Eli. And I told him thank you for dying for me and that I want to go to heaven too.
Now, you want to talk about getting teary eyed at the drop of a hat!! I was in shock! Now you may say that a five year old is too young to understand....but the Bible says that all we need is to have the faith of a child! And if a five year old can pray a sinner's prayer -- Zachary did it....and he did it all on his own!
We talked about it for a while with him to really make sure that he understood everything. Then, the next Wednesday night we let him talk to our pastor at church. After a lot more talking and praying...Zachary came forward in front of the church to tell everyone of his decision and then was baptized on October 24th!! And better still, my dad came out to our church and baptized Zachary...which was so unique.
I cannot express how proud Nathan and I are of Zachary -- and we truly have seen an unique change in his spirit. He now worries about Eli -- and wants to make sure that as soon as Eli gets old enough, that he understands everything and believes in Jesus so that he can go to heaven too. A week or so after, my great-grandmother passed away and when I told Zachary about it, his first question was "Did Big Mama believe in Jesus?" :) He also has witnessed to several people along the way -- including the lady at the drive-thru at the bank.... He told her that she needed to have Jesus in her heart and get baptized so that she could go to heaven too. :)
Anyway - I could go on forever about my little one... I am so thankful for him and for his heart for others. One child down and two more to go....my prayers continue to Zachary. But at least I know in my heart that my oldest child is forever safe in the arms of my Lord -- praise God!!
....
Here are some pics from the night...
Waiting for the service to start...
The view from out front...
The view from where I was...
In the bathroom afterwards...
All of my family came up for the service. And afterwards, we treated Zachary to dinner at his favorite resturaunt....Demos' Steak House!
Little E showing off for the camera!
I have some videos from the night too...but I will have to post them another time!
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