Lessons from Parker

My handsome little man!

There is so much to say about this little guy.  He is so funny and so brave and so loving and creative!

He has been saying for a little while now that he wants to have stairs in our new house and I've tried to explain that we don't plan to ever have stairs because sister would have a hard time with them.  Then all the sudden last night before bed, he prayed and thanked the Lord for our house now and that he liked it ok, but that he was excited to get our new house.  And then he prayed and asked God that we wouldn't have stairs in our new house because he wanted to be close to his sister and he always wanted her to know he would be right there for her.

I can't explain what this little guy does to my heart.  I absolutely love sharing moments before bed with him!  I will sit in his bed with him and just let him tell me about everything that's on his mind.  Some of it's silly and him just winding down after a long day...and then some of it reaches to the very depths of his soul.

Last night he was talking about his calendar on his wall.  As days go by, Daddy and him will mark through them with an "X" and he was wondering what happened after all the days were X'd out...he asked...'then we'll be dead'?  I snickered and said 'No, then we'll get you a new calendar!' ;)  Then he wanted to know what happens when we're dead, and so we talked a little about Heaven.  I told Parker as he learns more and more about Jesus by reading the Bible and begins to believe in Him, that Jesus changes our hearts and we do our best to spend our days in a relationship with Him and one day we will be with Him in Heaven.  I told Parker that Heaven is a place better than anything we've ever known...and then I told him that in Heaven, Tessa will be able to walk and talk and that her own little ears will work for her in Heaven.  Before I could even finish he said "Awesome!  I wonder what she will sound like!?!"  And with that he gave me a huge hug and kiss and was ready to say goodnight.

I am so grateful for these teachable moments with Parker....not for me to teach him, but for him to teach me. It's fairly easy sometimes to speak the words to try and help Parker understand our faith, after being taught about it my whole life, but it's something else to see the reactions of a child as they begin experiencing it for the first time.  The joy and excitement that filled him up just hearing these things of such hope, was a lesson in itself.

~Whitney