Jesus' Ideas Are Better Than Mommy's

I was putting Ember to bed tonight, and I was trying to teach her about listening to Jesus. She was scared (which she says every night), so we asked "Jesus, what do you want Ember to do do when she's scared?" She got a little frustrated, saying "He's not answering!" I tried to explain different ways He speaks, and then we prayed a little bit more and decided that I would pray and tell her what I heard. I prayed out loud again, "Jesus, what do you want Ember to do when she's scared?" I was sure what I heard first was wrong, but the more I asked, the more I got the same answer with different wording. Finally I had to come clean. "Ember, I think Jesus said that when you're scared you should come to me." I envisioned her getting out of bed twenty times a night telling me she's scared. Is this what you're signing me up for, Lord? Really? I thought. Ember answered me, "No, but when I'm scared you tell me 'go to bed'" (in a harsh voice). "Yes," I said, "But sometimes... Jesus says things that we wouldn't say because Jesus has better ideas than we do. I might say "go to bed" (in a harsh voice), but Jesus would say "go see mommy." We finished talking, and I kissed her goodnight and went to finish what I was doing in the kitchen. I heard the Lord say, "she'll be less scared if she knows she can come to you." I know it seems simple, but I was bewildered. It kind of makes sense, but won't she take advantage of it? Well, she did get out of bed. Once. She came and told me that she wanted to play with Elijah when she woke up. Then we said goodnight, and she left the kitchen and went back to bed, and that was the end of it. Just to help you understand, she usually tries to get out of bed over and over and over again, and we have to actually take her back to her bed and make sure she gets in and lies down. Then she tries to talk her way out of going to sleep until we put an end to it. Tonight was totally different. Daniel pointed out later that God wants her to know she can come to us when she's afraid, partly because He wants her to know that she can come to Him when she's afraid. If she always gets a "go to bed" when she's afraid, she will transfer that to God and think that she will go to Him, and He'll say, "go away." 

When I want convenience and order, God wants to lead a little girl's heart into security and trust. And He requires selfless love on my part to lead her there. Not only do I get to bring her up with the Lord's help, but I get to learn about His character and how different His ways are than mine just by trying to teach her something that I think I know.