Listening

He was cooking up some delicious Stone Soup and apparently all of that cooking can make a 5-year old boy tired.

Oh my sweet Ryder...how I do love you. I pray you see how proud we are of you.  I know how hard you try to please all of us...you are a lot like me.  You can think of all the crazy things to do that I used to do...and you'd think I'd be the most patient with you because of that... yet I always fall short.   No matter all of the sprite spills in the car, or dumping sprinkles all over the kitchen, or touching the buttons on the printer until it finally just quits, or jamming up the sunroof on the car...I love you more than your brother loves candy...and that is a lot of loving.

We left for soccer practice shortly after he finished making stone soup.  While riding in the car, he told me that Jesus is going to have his last Supper on Thursday.  I agreed and then he went on to explain that on Friday Jesus will die on the Cross and come back to life on Sunday.  He told me that Jesus walked through the town and everyone shouted Hosanna...then the bad guys put him on the Cross...but Jesus forgave them.  Just when I think he isn't listening...he is... and I feel so incredibly blessed. 

 I've been asking Matt these questions a lot lately:  "How do we make sure our boys make good choices?  How do we make sure they always know God?   How do we make sure they never go off and forget what is important?".    I opened up the devotional I read on my phone every morning and these words were in front of my face:

"Train children in the way they should go; when they grow old, they won’t depart from it."  - Proverbs 22:6 (CEB)

Not only is Ryder listening, God is listening too.  Just when I begin to wonder if He hears all the prayers I pray, He gives me proof. 

This is Holy week...a week of preparation and a time to rejoice in the renewal of our faith...faith in all things visible and invisible...faith in those around us...faith that we are being heard...faith that good always comes from bad...faith that there is eternal life, eternal love and eternal happiness if we open our hearts and accept it.