A New Backpack, Jesus, and Eyes that Sparkle

I recently had the fun of getting to sit down with a young girl who announced to her parents on the way to VBS Family Night that she had asked Jesus into her heart. As we talked and she answered a few questions, her sweet and simple faith came through in a most strong way.

Before we got started, she showed me her new backpack and her school supplies. Her eyes sparkled as she lifted each treasure out of the backpack and explained things such as "This was the only one" and "I had to search for this."

Kids. We can learn so much from them. Here are a few things I learned from my new sister in Christ that day:

Trust Jesus. She listened, she learned, she loves, and she accepted. Her prayer was simple because she took Jesus at His word and trusted Him to remove her sins and live in her heart.

Beautiful.

Pay attention. As we talked, this precious child answered many of my questions by relating Bible stories to me. Her parents had obviously placed a firm foundation in her life by teaching her biblical truth and she had quite literally taken it to heart.

Perfect.

Simple faith. She took Jesus at His word and acted on it. She doesn't understand everything yet but then again, neither do I. Neither do you. She didn't wait until she understood it all because she has faith in the most important truth--God loves her and sent His Son to be her personal Savior.

I am in awe.

Genuine enthusiasm. She is a quiet little girl, one of those kids who can be in a group and only speak up when directly spoken to. She listens and learns. And she absorbs every word. As we talked about Jesus her eyes sparkled just like they did when she showed me her new school supplies.

I want to be like her.

I want to trust Jesus at His word.

I want to pay attention to the Bible and to those in my life who teach me scriptural truth.

I want a simple faith that doesn't have to understand everything.

I want a genuine enthusiasm that makes my eyes sparkle when I talk about Jesus.

You know, I remember the excitement of  new crayons, shoes, and notebooks. The feeling of starting over with a clean slate. And I remember the day I prayed and asked Jesus into my heart and He made me brand new.

Oh, what a Savior to give us a clean heart!

Oh what a Savior to offer us a fresh start every time we talk with Him and listen to Him!

Oh what a Savior--true to His word!

My little sister is going to have an amazing school year. She has her new supplies and, more importantly, her new heart.

I love kids and I love that God has placed me in the lives of so many. I learn from them every day.

Oh, if we would all just come as a child...