Lessons on Faith from Brody

Jesus tells us clearly in His Word to have faith like little children, for they are at the heart of the Kingdom of God. I see this evidenced in the lives of my boys and the lessons I learn just from watching their faith deepen my own.

Our sweet little Brody has a heart for the Lord that stops me in my tracks, humbles me and brings me to tears almost daily. It seems selfish to keep these lessons only for myself, so I thought I would share some moments of faith from Brody lately…

Moment #1:
 As I walk the boys into their school each day, if we enter from the back we pass by the cafeteria. During the Christmas season, there is a large nativity set up there. It is one of those large plastic, light-up sets that you often see in front yards this time of year. Kinda cheesy up close, but my perspective on them has changed a bit this week. The boys and I walked in on Monday morning and Brody saw the cafeteria nativity for the first time. He looked up at me with pure wonder and whispered in awe “Mommy, can I go see baby Jesus?”  He then detoured from our normal route down the hallway and it was as if the entire world fell away and he was only interested in getting to his Jesus. He walked over, sat down in front of Jesus and just stared at Him. Brody’s face was filled with wonder, peace, and excitement; he looked like there was nowhere else he would rather be.  Caleb and I walked over and we talked a bit about the characters of the nativity and when it was time for them to head to class, Brody leaned over and gave this plastic baby Jesus a hug and kiss and whispered “I love you, baby Jesus”.

That picture has stayed with me this whole week and I feel there is much to be considered and learned:

·         Be interruptible for Jesus. The nativity was out of our normal morning routine and it was out of the path to take us where we were going. But, Brody saw Jesus and had a magnetic pull to be near Him. I often need to learn to release my plans and path ahead to swerve and be where Jesus wants me. As a planner who likes to have things mapped out, that is not always easy to accomplish. The beauty of Brody being fully in that moment was a stark reminder of the value of being aware of where the Lord is moving and jumping on board even if that means a detour from where I had planned to go. Just head straight for Him.

·         Allow the presence and reality of Jesus to draw us in. Once Brody’s eyes locked on this little plastic Jesus, he had no other desire than being near Him. If I consistently lived in the reality of who Jesus is, nothing could deter me from spending time with Him; yet I often let distraction rule my days. Jesus is overwhelmingly alluring if we truly recognize the reality of who He is. How could I want to be anywhere but in His presence when I know His character, His love, His patience, His faithfulness? I want to hunger and thirst for the Lord in a way that nothing else can hold a candle to being near Him each and every day.

·         Let the light of Christ change us. I believe it is impossible to be wholly in the presence of Lord and remain unchanged. As Brody sat and stared at the scene before him, the light from these figurines glowed on his face…and beyond that, his countenance changed to reflect absolute peace and contentment. Jesus Christ is a piercing light into the darkness. He doesn’t allow the dark corners in us remain in the shadows, but He invades every part of us. That light does not bring condemnation (although sometimes it does bring correction), but it brings love like we cannot experience anywhere else and His light changes us. The more I allow Jesus to redeem my own heart and life, the more others see His glow in me. I want to radiate His presence the way Brody did just being near an image of Him.

Moment #2:  As the boys and I drive in to work and school each day, there is a certain intersection that we get to where we pray for our day. In the craziness of getting out the door by 6:30 each morning, I use that intersection as a reminder to pray once we have settled into our drive a bit. Twice this week, Brody has prompted me to pray long before we reach that point in our drive. On Tuesday he said “Let’s pray RIGHT NOW, let’s not wait”. I’m not sure any further explanation is needed here, but what a great phrase to remember that God longs to hear from us at all points throughout the day. We don’t have to wait for a meal time or quiet time or only while we are reading our Bible. Pray as the Spirit moves, pray thankfully as you encounter good things in your day, and pray when you have need. Just pray and ‘let’s not wait’!

Moment #3:  One night last week, I had a really rough night. These have not been commonplace in Chris’ absence, but it was a night that I had trouble getting to sleep and once I finally did I had a terrifying dream about an intruder in our home. I awoke with fear on my heart. As my heartbeat slowed back to a normal rhythm, I had a clear feeling that I was right smack in the middle of spiritual warfare. It was almost as if I could ‘see’ the battle going on for my heart in that moment. I lay in my bed and prayed and prayed and attempted to get back to sleep. Right as I was drifting off, I heard Brody come out of his room and he came and stood right by the side of my bed. I asked him what he needed and he responded, “I just needed to come and give you a hug, mommy”. I know without a doubt that my little guy, at three years old, was in tune with the Lord to heed His prompting to come into my room and show me a little love in a moment that I needed it. It was a beautiful, precious moment that I will not ever forget.

That night was a great reminder to me to pay attention to those nudges from the Spirit. I tend to have a more reserved personality and I can often choose to ignore what I feel or talk myself out of taking action on things that the Lord impresses upon me. It might be a word of encouragement to someone I don’t know well, it could be giving a hug when I’m not sure it’s wanted, or a word of wisdom for someone’s life. Brody jumping out of bed that night just to come give me a hug was an awesome example to me of moving when and where the Spirit leads.  It makes me wonder how many opportunities I have missed out on by not acting.

It is so incredible to watch the heart of my child be drawn to the Lord and to see intimacy happening between he and his Savior. I am blessed, humbled, and overcome at a God that invites little children unto Himself and has a unique relationship with them. I pray that Brody’s heart is always in a place to zero in on Jesus and that he wants to be in the presence of the Lord above all else.