"Mommy, where is heaven?"

Last night, Jagger and I were lying in bed, and we were reading his little Bible stories. We some how got on the subject of heaven. That's when Jagger asked how we get to heaven, where it is, and if it's far away like in outer space. Although we've discussed this before, his ability to understand is a little more developed now, and he was more interested this time.

I was a little caught off guard. How do I describe the "location" of heaven to a 4 year old? Well, wait...when I think about it, how exactly do we describe the location of heaven to a grown person? It's a bit complicated when we have such finite minds. So, the only preschool explanation that I could come up with was, "Well, heaven is very far away." Then, he said that he was going to take an airplane and fly to heaven! I thought that was cute.

I told him casually that we can't really visit heaven now, but if we believe that Jesus is God's son and that He died on the cross and came back to life 3 days later (which Jagger thinks is the coolest thing ever) - some day when we die, we can go to heaven and see God and Jesus and baby London...

And that's where I messed up. Jagger jerked up with a nervous and worried face and said - in a quivering voice - "Mommy, you mean that some day my heart is not going to work, too???" Oh my goodness... at that moment, I realized that my casual comment of "when we die" took Jagger immediately to the fact that his baby sister died because "her heart didn't work." It also made me aware that Jagger had no idea that we do not live forever in this body! I just forgot (like a complete goofball) that his little mind didn't know that! So, I immediately changed the subject, and he was fine.

I am thankful that I can discuss Jesus and heaven to my 4 year old, but I am reminded that some things need to be left up to God and the Holy Spirit. The time will come when Jagger will be ready to discuss our mortality, the true meaning of heaven, eternity, sin, salvation - all the big stuff. But, sometimes I just talk too much! And that's what I did! For now, I think I need to focus on just making sure that Jagger knows God's love for him, that Jesus is God's son, that baby London is in heaven and we will see her some day (no big explanation needed yet!). For now, we will go to church, say our prayers, read our Bible stories, and give thanks.

I have a tendency to make some things more complicated than they need to be. Praise the Lord that Jagger is "saved" right now - that his little mind cannot comprehend the meaning of sin and salvation, death and eternity. God is gracious enough to have our children safe in his hands - protected from the depths of hell - because of their lack of understanding. When Jagger reaches the age of accountability and recognizes that he is "lost", then I will dig a bit deeper in our conversations!

Whew...sometimes it's tough being a parent!!! I know this is only the beginning :)