Lately, Jackson, my 8 year old, hasn't wanted to say prayers. After his sister left the room tonight, I asked him what was going on and why he didn't want to say prayers. He buried his face in his pillow and started to cry. After some coaxing he told me he didn't like church. He didn't believe in church (which he attends every other week when he is at his Dad's). I wanted to find where the disconnect was so I started at the top; do you believe in God? That Jesus is God's son? That Jesus came to earth to teach about God? Each question followed by a "yes".
The road block came when we started talking about the stories. Bible stories. Stories from the Book of Mormon. He told me, "no one in the world has that much power". I told him he was right. No one in the world has that much power, but God is not in this world.. he is in heaven.
He then asked about people dying and how much we miss them. I'm holding back tears at this point, as I watch my sweet little baby cry because he misses his grandma oh so bad. I told him, that's another wonderful thing about believing in God, that when people die, it's not goodbye forever since will see them again someday.
I went on to tell him that we can pray for anything. We can pray to tell God how grateful we are, to ask to protect us, ask for forgiveness, or ask for him to comfort us. We can pray alone, or in a group, you can even ask someone to help you or for them to pray for you, if you aren't quite sure what to say, but God will always answer your prayers. He might not answer right away, but he always answers. Jackson said something about having to wait a long time, even a whole year. I told him (still choking back tears and trying not to let my voice crack), "What if you handed me a Band-Aid right now? I would probably look at you like you are crazy! I would wonder why you are giving me a Band-Aid when I don't need one. But what if, next week, I fall and scrape my knee and it's bleeding.. and you hand me a Band-Aid. I would say thank you! I need this Band-Aid." I explained that sometimes our body or our mind isn't ready for God's answer just like it wasn't the right time to give me a Band-Aid. We might need to learn a lesson along the way, or meet a new person or new people will be brought into our lives, there are any number of reasons and we just need to have faith.
I'm not sure where that analogy came from. I'm sure it was divine intervention because it rolled of my tongue as if I've said it a hundred times before, and Jackson felt reassured and understood why we should be patient. After that we prayed together. He asked for comfort for all the people that are sad because someone they love has died (I finally broke down).
I grabbed a blanket out of the living room, that his grandma had made. I had him sit up in his bed and I wrapped the blanket around him, telling him, "think of this as grandma wrapping her arms around you and giving you a great big hug." I tucked him in with more hugs and kisses and he was asleep within minutes.
I'm thankful that I had the right words to say tonight. I want him to grow up close to God, no matter what religion he chooses. Whether he chooses the Mormon faith like his Father, basic Christian believes like myself or something completely different, I hope that he, and my daughter, have a strong faith to lean on for those hard times that we all know are bound to happen throughout their lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment