Caleb, my oldest son, embraced a saving faith in Jesus when he was just 6 years old. Our whole family rejoiced and celebrated his “birth” day with great pomp and circumstance. I happily marked the day in my calendar while his grandmother presented him a with a cake and as his first book of devotions.

Knowing our boy came to faith early in life filled us with unspeakable joy and we were blessed to experience the same excitement in years past with each of our younger children. It’s been a privilege to help encourage the growth of childlike faith and witness the power it holds. Caleb’s dad and I didn’t acknowledge our need for a savior until we were adults; young, unwed, selfish & immature adults, struggling to raise the very same boy that has come to blow us away with his security in God and the strength of his convictions.

So, I cannot say I was surprised when my boy excitedly approached me this morning to tell his story……shocked, maybe…….awed, absolutely….but not surprised!

Caleb came bouncing into my room first thing to tell me he’d said a prayer as he lay in bed last night, a prayer asking God how he can become better acquainted with and spend more time around a particular young lady in his life.

You see, Caleb has had a “crush” on this one sweet girl for quite some time. He sees her occasionally throughout the year but is not involved in anything that allows him to spend time with her on a consistent basis. This has been our first foray into boy/girl issues with one of our kids. We’ve made sure to talk through what his feelings mean but he’s 10 and the fact that we’re here at all makes me want to hide from the world in a room full of his baby pictures. It’s safe to say we have been unwilling to give the topic much play in our house. The fact that my boy sat down to talk with God about this in the first place has me reeling a bit.

Before I had time to wrap my mind around the first part of our conversation Caleb went on to tell me God had answered his prayer and gave him a vision last night in his dreams.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What did this vision show him, you ask?

My boy says God told him that in order to see more of his crush and get to know her better he needed to faithfully read his bible and make going to church a priority in his life.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

????????????????????????????????????????????

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I couldn’t think of how I should respond at first, so I asked a few questions confirming what he’d just said to me. He was just giddy with excitement, bible in hand, a literal spring in his step knowing without a doubt he’d heard directly from God in response to a prayer he’d made.

God told him that in order to better know this girl, he needed to spend time really getting to know Jesus.

I am Caleb’s mom and I couldn’t have scripted a more perfect answer to my boy’s prayer. He certainly didn’t get it from me, I wouldn’t have known to bring it up! He hasn’t seen the young lady in months, I had no idea he was even thinking about her! He didn’t hear his puppy-love crush was wrong, he wasn’t promised he was going to marry her if he faithfully reads his bible, he wasn’t given any assurances about the girl herself. He was shown that he must first love God before he can truly love another person. He was reminded of the tools to forge the unshakable foundation of a faith in Christ. How could that particular response have come from anywhere but God??

Nate and I can’t say we’ve ever had a vision handed to us from above. I can’t recall a time where I’ve ever audibly heard the voice of the Lord. My ten year old son has NO doubt, he knows God in a real and personal way, he has proof Jesus cares for every piece of his life…..even the parts his mom doesn’t want to accept.

That’s powerful to me.

That boy and his faith are an inspiration to me today.

I am overwhelmingly thankful to my God for showing up in a big way for a {not so} little boy and the things that are weighing on his heart. Overwhelmingly thankful.