Timely Conversations

The last few days I have been thinking of and praying for the city of Boston and all the victims and their families and the perpetrators, that they would be struck by fear and awe of God and that they would be caught and held accountable.

It is difficult for me not to obsess over tragedies.  When I read too many details the emotions can swirl in my brain for days, rendering me a little less present for my family.  So, I have had to put a personal ban on clicking on all the headlines that come across my screen.  I look to see if the criminals have been caught, then I pray and let it go.

Tonight at supper Caedmon asked why we do communion at church.  'Why do we say we're eating Jesus' body and drinking His blood?'  he asked quizzically.

So I tried to explain that it was meant to be a reminder to us.  A reminder that Jesus came to earth, that He took all our bad stuff on Him, that He died, that He rose again and that we have this great and awesome hope that we will see Him again and go to heaven.  I said, 'It's easy for us to forget things sometimes.  We can feel sad or bad about bad things going on.  He knew we would need a reminder that good is going to happen forever even if bad is happening for a minute here.'

That was a very good message for myself.  I could hear God's voice speaking that same thing to my heart as the words came out of my mouth.

A minute later Caedmon said, 'I can't wait to go to heaven!  When Jesus comes to get us in His big cloud, I'm going to (his voice dropped to a whisper) touch Him (as he reached out and gently took my hand)!  And we should bring Him a lunch!'

The thought of my sweet boy standing next to Jesus, holding His hand, handing him a lunch because He must be so tired coming all the way from heaven almost made me burst into tears.  My next thought was of the woman in the Bible who fought through crowds to touch the hem of Jesus' cloak, and was healed the instant she touched him.  That was pretty emotional too.

So, tonight I will pray for Boston and I will pray that Jesus comes soon and I will thank Him for placing my children in my life to remind me of the hope we have and His light through them shining in my darkness.