Our Sweet Joshua

A very special story was told about our Joshua this past Sunday at church that I felt warranted a very special post. Our Joshua is a one-of-a-kind little boy. Everything he feels, he feels BIG and with all of his heart and soul. He's super silly, affectionate, sweet, and sensitive. When he gets angry, he gets really angry; when he gets his feelings hurt, your heart breaks for him; when he loves you, you definitely feel loved and when he's laughing, it's absolutely contagious. Joshua is also very special in that he has always had a special interest in God - who He is, what He looks like, how big He is, etc. When we weren't going to church regularly, it was Joshua at the mere age of 2 years old that was urging us to go. When we sit down to eat at the dinner table and people start eating, Joshua is the first one to say "But we need to pray!" When anyone gets hurt or is sick, he immediately asks if we can pray to God for that person to feel better. I've always felt that because of his passion, heart and trust in God at such a young age, that this little boy must be destined to something that would bring Glory to God.

Well, Sunday's message was given by the youth and children's ministers. Pastor Andy is the boys' teacher in children's church and he told Nathan that he was going to be talking about the boys in church that day. So, we wondered what antics he was going to share with the congregation about our boys. The story he told was about our very first day to visit HighPoint for church service. In children's church they pass the offering basket around the class. My boys had never given an offering - our old church didn't do offering in their class and I wasn't used to giving them money before church. When the basket got to Joshua he said "I want to give my heart to God." Pastor Andy thought that was sweet and just sort of moved on, but he noticed after a few minutes that Joshua was looking pretty upset. Andy went back to him and said "Joshua, what's wrong?" He said "I want to put my heart in the offering!" So, Andy's response was to grab the basket and hold it in front of Joshua. Joshua reached across his chest in a motion as though he was taking his heart and placing it in the offering basket. Andy's thought was "wow, now I could really learn something from Joshua here today." So, every Sunday Joshua and Jaron place their hearts in the offering everytime the basket comes to them.

Nathan and I had no idea and we both looked at eachother with tears in our eyes. We also heard sniffles from others throughout the congregation. So many things come to mind when I think about that story. One is how upset Joshua got because he really wanted to give his heart in the offering to God. I mean, how special is that? That Joshua felt so strongly about what may seem to an adult to be a very small "action." The other thing that comes to mind is how that's all God really wants from us...our hearts...for us to love Him and feel as strongly for Him as He does for us.

Later at the dinner table we asked Joshua how he came up with that idea. He told us simply "my heart...my heart just told me to do it and that's what my heart wants me to do everyday."

2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:2-6