New Life

There is just something about the Spring that I love so much...well, if it would ever get here this year!  Just when we think it is here, it gets below freezing again!  At least we don't have to deal with snow!  Anyways, as I was saying, I love Spring.  I think that my absolute favorite holiday has to be Easter.  Christmas is great, and who doesn't love their birthday and the 4th of July, but I love Easter so much!  I mean, that was the day when I got my freedom!  Freedom from sin and Hell when Jesus rose from the dead!  As my 4 year old would say, "It's just amazing!"  

Spring gives us a hint of new life.  The flowers are blooming (my allergies are terrible), the air is fresh and clean, the sun is shining...it's just refreshing after the long, cold winter!  New life is wonderful...and this Spring, we are experiencing new life all over the place!  Of course, our precious Makenna is just months away from making her grand entrance into the world, and we are busy getting things ready for her arrival.  But a few days ago, new life was once again experienced in our house.

It all began when my 4 year old came home from school yelling "Crucify him!  Crucify him!"  Pretty brutal thing, right?  I knew immediately what she was talking about, and I thought that it was a perfect time to bring up this conversation with her since I knew she was getting it in school as well.  So at bedtime, I asked her what her Bible stories had been in school.  We talked about the people waving the palm branches at Jesus and saying Hosanna...she really likes that part.  We then moved on to the Crucifixion and Resurrection after that, and I asked her some questions about why Jesus died, and is he still dead, etc.  She really knows her stuff!  

When I asked her if she wanted to pray, she said yes, and we did.  I was so proud of her in that moment.  What a precious thing to lead your child to the Lord!  After she prayed, we talked about what it meant, and she said, "Jesus made my heart clean Mommy!"  And I asked her if that meant it was clean forever.  She said, "well, it won't be clean when I do bad things."  So I went on to explain to her that she only has to ask Jesus into her heart one time, but when she does things bad, she needs to pray and ask Him to forgive her and make her heart clean again.  I told her that it didn't mean she got saved again, just that she was getting a new start.  Once you are saved, you are always saved.  She didn't really seem to understand that, so I grabbed a shirt from her drawer, and I asked her how many times did mommy have to buy this shirt from the store?  She said just once.  I then asked her, what happens after you wear it and it gets dirty...do I have to go out and buy her another shirt to wear?  She said no, we wash it in the machine.  So I told her it's kind of the same thing when she does bad things.  She then said "Jesus puts my heart in the washing machine?"  I had to keep from laughing, she was so cute!  I said no, but He does make it clean again.  She looked at me and said "that's so amazing!"  Yes, my sweet girl it is!

How many times do we forget about the amazingness (if that's even a word!) of salvation?  I mean, we were saved from Hell!  We are promised life eternal with our Lord!  Seeing my child realize that fact made my heart just want to sing with joy!  

Never forget the gift of salvation. Always remember that you have a hoome waiting for you in Heaven, and tell everyone you can about that gift!  It is too precious to keep to yourself!