Tucker's Heart for Jesus...

Our Tucker is the most inquisitive and curious of all the four kiddos.  He's always had a mind for figuring out why things work the way they do and loves to be the investigator.  He is an independent little fella and marches to the beat of his own drum.  He notices others but isn't afraid to blaze a trail for trying something new on his own.  With this said, he's not just going to do something just because the crowd is going one direction.  When he chooses to do something, we can rest assured that he's going to be all and it  will be all on his own initiative.  The last several months, our little Tuck has been asking questions about heaven....about sin, Jesus and how it all fits together.  I've seen his little wheels turning as his simple questions are answered.  This has been a year of growth for Tucker in so many ways.  He's a July birthday so we decided to give him another year of "preschool" before starting Kindergarten....after much prayer, I just felt led to give him a year of growth. He's loved his preschool class 3 days a week, he loves his Community Bible Study class each Thursday, he's loved helping me lead Good News Club in the local public school and of course enjoys his Sunday church friends!  It's brought me such joy to see him thriving in the various environments.  He's had so many wonderful teachers investing into his little heart and mind this year.  Parenting truly is a partnership.....we do our best to diligently invest and then we prayerfully ask the Lord to guide us as to other growth environments with other adults to love and point our children to Jesus.

A few weeks ago at lunch, the kids and I were having our typical lunch conversation.  Then, Tuck began asking questions about heaven.  We talked about how sin separates us from God but thankfully He sent his Son Jesus to rescue us and save us from our sin!  Tuck finished the story with sharing with us how Jesus died for us but didn't stay in the tomb...He rose again!  This lead into a conversation about our need for a Savior.  We talked about all the Joy that comes when we live a life honoring Jesus and how He wants to guide us every step on earth. We talked about heaven and how we can spend eternity with those we love!  As we ended our brief conversation, Tuck said, "Well I don't need Jesus right now....I will just talk to him before I die and ask him to save me."  Of course that led Bella and Jack into talking about how we don't know when we will die and we need his help on earth as we live.  In which case Tuck responded, "I don't need Jesus's help!"  (A typical Tuck response....remember, he's our independent get the job done alone guy.)  The conversation ended, but I knew he was thinking and I prayed the seeds would grow that were planted.

A week or so later on Friday, February 21, Tuck came and cuddled with me in my chair late one evening.  He began talking to me about how excited he was to see Gaga (Jeremy's dad) and Mimi (my mom) in heaven one day.  I asked him if he was going to heaven one day.....to which he responded, "YES! I am!  I know I need Jesus to help me every day and I want him to help me everyday.  I was thinking "Wait, What?? What did you say??"  (because remember....our Tuck doesn't say or do things just to do them....it is always thought out.)  So I had him talk with me about sin, what it is, what it does.....why he needs Jesus.  He was so adamant...I need Jesus and I need to pray now!  Being that it was 9pm and he was sleepy....we decided to have him think on things and told him if he still felt the same way in the morning to come talk to us.  We put him to bed along with the other kiddos......

To my surprise, in the middle of the night.... a little body crawled in bed with us....which never happens.....ever!!  It was Tuck....I let him snuggle between us and sleep.  At the crack of dawn, I felt a face staring at me, "Mom....Mom.....I want to pray and ask Jesus to save me!"  We knew that this was the Spirit knocking on his heart.....and we layed there together in bed and had him pray.  He talked to Jesus and asked Him to come save Him....to forgive him and that he needed his help.  The sweetest most genuine little prayer.....with as much belief and obedience that a little 5.5 year old can muster.  Sweetest most beautiful moment that we've ever had with our Tuck.

The joy and peace I excperienced that day is hard to explain.....a prayer that I've prayed since my babies were in the womb....that they would come to know Jesus at a young age.  I sure love my Tucky......I pray he runs hard after Jesus and that this is a spiritual marker he will remember for the rest of his life.