Parking Lot Prayers

A few weeks ago, I was taking Brian to Konnect at our church on a Wednesday night.  This is the first year he has been old enough to attend Wednesday night activities (you have to been in 1st grade). He has been going since the first week of school in August and loves it. He gets excited every week when Wednesday rolls around and comes home talking non-stop about everything he has learned. This Wednesday was no different. I loaded the boys into the car and hoped that we would get there on time since Hudson's new thing is to take 10 minutes just to get out the door. We were at the intersection at a red light right before pulling in and Brian says out of the blue, "Mom? I haven't been baptized yet." 

I told him that was true and then asked him what being baptized meant. I wanted to see if he really knew or just thought it looked fun to get dunked in some water at church. His reply amazed me. "It's what you do to show people that Jesus lives in your heart and forgives you of your sins. I haven't done that either, Mama."

I just sat there for a second trying to figure out how I should respond. Does he really understand? Is he too young? All these questions popped up that I didn't know how to answer. Then I thought about how Jesus taught that we are to have faith like a child. The kind of faith that, to me, means not "over-thinking" or carefully considering things first. It means jumping all in and believing wholeheartedly. I also remembered my mom telling me how when I was exactly Brian's age, I had come home from church one Sunday night and told her I had asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins  and to take control of my life. She told me how she had the same kinds of thoughts about me being so young. She even talked to our pastor about her concerns. He told her that it is not our place to determine what is the right age or not for God to move in someone's heart. Only God knows. I know many, many seeds had been planted in Brian's little heart and that as his mother it was my job to just trust God when it was His time to make those seeds bloom. Brian is always so full of questions when we read the bible each night and after we go to church that I knew things had been stirring in his heart for a while.

As we pulled ino the parking lot, I asked Brian if he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart and to forgive him of his sins. He enthusiastically replied "yes!" So I told him when we parked that he could come get in the front seat with me and I would pray with him. 

I was pretty nervous, I'll admit. I had never prayed with someone to receive Jesus before, not to mention this was my precious little boy whom I had been praying for this to happen. I wanted to make sure that my words were clear. So I just decided to pray from my heart the words that I pray again and again. There is something beautiful about praying for Jesus to change your life and forgive you from your sins over and over. It's a reminder to me to always be thankful for that moment 26 years ago when I asked Jesus into my heart to forgive me. 

When we were about to say amen, I peeked to look at Brian's face. He was holding my hands and squeezing his eyes shut tight in great concentration. I have never seen a bigger smile than the one he had on his face. He said he couldn't wait to tell his church teachers that he had just asked Jesus into his heart. I have never had a prouder moment as a mom. I thought of the times I had prayed that Brian would find Jesus at an early age and really, truly understand God's love for us. I always pray that he doesn't make the same mistakes I have made in my life and that he always holds tight to his faith no matter what. 

My little boy is now my brother in Christ. Wow.