The Innocence of a Child

“You can’t see Jesus because He’s in your heart saving you.”  ~By, Autumn Cook, age 6

It’s 7:30 a.m., the alarm has gone off or should I say… run in.  Yes, it’s my little three year old Autumn running into my bedroom, early as ever to snuggle with Mommy before we start our day.  She goes to the end of the bed, makes her way over the mess of covers, and climbs underneath to get warm.  I keep trying to pretend that I’m asleep so that maybe I can get about five more minutes of rest before I have to get up.  I can feel her squirming restlessly next to me and sighing heavily as if to say “Mommy get up already!”  So I start to open my eyes and this cute little face with a little button nose is staring right at me and asks me this question, “Mommy? Jesus isn’t in here.”  So I say, “What do you mean?”  She proceeds to put her hand just above her belly and says once again… “Jesus isn’t in here!”  I start to become intrigued wondering if she is asking what I think she is.  Does she want to ask Jesus into her heart at the age of three?  So I asked her, “What do you mean? Do you want to ask Jesus to come into your heart?”  She nods and says quietly “Yes, I do.”  So I proceed with telling her to repeat after me and we say the sinners’ prayer together.  When we are through though, she opens her eyes, puts her hand near her belly again and says to me, “Mommy, Jesus is still not in here.”  I start to say, “Well… of course He is!  You just prayed and now He is with you forever!”  She looks over at me, moves her hand about 4 inches up from where she had been resting it before and exclaims, “Oh Mommy!  There He is!”  I about died laughing, not knowing that the entire time she was thinking that the beating of her little heart was what tells her that Jesus is with her.  It’s moments like this that Mothers cherish forever.  I love you my little Auti and Jesus is with you now and forever.

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. We know that we live in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ~ 1 John 4:12-13