A New Birthday

Natasha asked Jesus into her heart today.

The conversation started while we were making pitas for dinner. She was talking about heaven, how she wanted to go there, and how she’d see Great-grandma there, “and meet Grandma Teena’s daddy.”

I asked her how she could get to heaven. “Ask Jesus into my heart.” (This is the answer to a question the 4 & 5s are asked each week in Sunday school.)

“Do you want to ask Jesus into your heart?”

She paused, like she was thinking about it. “Yes,” she said. “Well, when it’s dark.”

“You want to wait until bedtime?”

“Yes. I want Jesus to come and die in my heart.”

“Jesus is done dying,” I explained. “He only had to do that once. If you invite Jesus he comes to live in your heart.”

(I’ve been thankful I’ve not yet had to explain how this works. So far the metaphor has just worked for her.)

She seemed to be thinking about this. “I want to go to heaven,” she said. “But I’ll need some grown-ups.”

“You won’t need grown-ups in heaven,” I said. “You’ll have Jesus.” She still looked thoughtful, then brightened.

“Oh! I’ll have great-grandma! She’ll be my grown-up!”

We talked about heaven for a while, and Natasha clarified she didn’t want to go right away– that she wanted to wait until she was “great big and grown-up. Like you, Mommy.”

After regular bedtime stories we read “TheLost Son” out of her NIrV (not planned, particularly, she saw the painting/illustration and asked for the story).

Some comprehension questions are after the passage, and those seemed to prompt her memory. She said again she wanted Jesus to come in her heart.

I asked if she wanted to pray herself or repeat after me, and she said she wanted to repeat, so we did that. When we were done I prayed for her, then asked if she wanted to pray herself.

I wish I better remember what she said, but it’s the first thing I can remember her praying that sounded like it was all hers (up till now I’ve heard her say mostly things with identifiable sources).

It was only two lines and very sweet and tender, something like, “Thank you for having heaven for me.”

When Jay came in for bedtime hugs Natasha told him that she’d invited Jesus into her heart.

I honestly feel this surreal sense of having a new baby in the house.

3 thoughts on “A New Birthday

  1. Amy says:

    She went to sleep faster/sooner than usual too.

  2. Nichole says:

    Hooray! *smile*

  3. Auntie Sarah says:

    Yeay, yeay! Woo hoo! Definitely a b-day celebration in order!!

    As to this:
    “Amy Says:
    May 30th, 2007 at 10:21 pm

    She went to sleep faster/sooner than usual too.”

    Maybe this will help calm those interrupted nights!

    Oh, I’m so excited for her! Tell her we are so happy!

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