Donato accepted God into his heart today
Today my almost 5 year old son asked God to live in his heart. I started crying.
It was a sweet simple little conversation but I want to write this down to never forget.
Right before dropping Nahveea off at daycare the radio DJ mentioned the comet that is flying by and that it would be very visible in southern California over the next couple of nights. Donato thought she said "invisible" and he was so bummed because he's been excited about seeing this comet. I corrected the situation and then he asked what "visible" meant. I explained. Then he asked what "invisible" meant. I explained that it was something we couldn't see with our physical eyes. Like Slinkwings (a dragon, on the show Rescue Riders that he loves to watch, that can turn invisible). He then understood.
I said, "you know there is a lot around us that is invisible. We live in the physical realm but there is a spiritual realm that is invisible that we cannot see. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, it's just we cannot see it with our physical eyes." I then said, "you know just like God is invisible".
Donato acknowledged that he understood.
I said, "God is in the spiritual realm and we are in the physical realm. The Spiritual realm is very active. There are angles there, there are people there. Right now we are physical being, we live on a physical world and after we die from the physical realm we will be in the spiritual realm." I said, "God can be in the physical realm just like us if He wants to be. He did come to the physical realm in the form of Jesus. He lived as a human."
Donato said enthusiastically, "ya!"
I said, "But God can be in both the spiritual and the physical realm at the same time. He can live in our hearts here on the physical realm".
Donato piped up, "ya God can be in our hearts and all round us!" he talked about that a bit more.
Then I said, "you know Donato, God only lives in our hearts if we asked Him to. He doesn't want to go against our free will. He will only live there if we invite him in."
Donato asked, "Can I ask God into my heart?"
I said, "of course honey".
His small sweet little voice in the back of the SUV said, "God will you live in my heart?"
I started crying, choked up I said "that's awesome honey."
He then cheerfully said, "He said yes!"
I laughed and cried at the same time.
Donato then said, "God said he's been in my heart since before I was born"
I hold that last line dear to me and I will tuck it in my heart. I know this is the beginning of Donato's journey with the Lord. My prayer long before he was born was that he would call God friend and walk with Him all the days of his life. That his heart would sing for the Lord. That he would be a man of great kindness and compassion. That he would love those around him and be a friend to the outcast. That he would draw the weird and strange to him as a beacon to the Lord. That others would see his genuine nature and kindness and be drawn to Jesus.
I already see it at such a young age. He already draws in everyone around him in. They love his bright forward personality. I pray that we as parents would never squish that and that we would always point him in boldness to Jesus.