Last semester at Mt. Nebo we began reading through the Jesus Storybook Bible for o
ur bible study time on Mondays. I fell in love with the easy to understand language for children but mostly with the fact that each story points to Jesus. Because of this the children have been gaining an understanding of God’s love, justice, and grace. In the weeks prior to Christmas we put our main focus on the true meaning of the holiday. The children learned in depth the story of Jesus birth and God’s plan of salvation through Christ. In that time Treysean, one of our second graders, said that he wanted to have Jesus in his life. He understood that he could not be good enough to get to heaven and that a life without a relationship with God is incomplete. In his words “Mrs. Katelyn I need Jesus to help me make good choices and be more like Him.” He prayed with Mrs. Alyssa, our reading specialist, for Jesus to come into his heart and life that day.
Weeks have passed since that conversation and I have seen his excitement and attentiveness during bible study rise. Recently I gave the students a challenge to wake up each day and talk to God. I asked them to say something, even if it was just “Good Morning God, thanks for waking me up.” The following week I asked who had completed the challenge. When Treysean raised his hand I asked if he’d be willing to share about his time with God.
He told us about something very difficult that has happened in his family recently and that he talked to God about it and asked for His help. Then he said, “God told me a secret. He told me that everything is going to be okay.” I immediately felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and joy that even at such a young age he was hearing from God. He feels hope and trusts that the Lord is going to keep His word, something that we as adults struggle with regularly. What a gift from God and a great reminder to everyone “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Luke 18:17)