God loves you

Tonight, after four attempts to put the boys to bed, William and Charles finally stayed tucked in their bed. Ten minutes of silence in the house, and then the power flicked off. Darn. It popped right back on, but the tv satellite had to reset; the clocks had to be reset; the answering machine had to be reset; and William and Charles had to be reset. William, afraid of the dark, was crying. I went upstairs to cuddle the boys and calm them. Charles was fine, but William had tears streaming down his face. I talked to them about why the power flickered--probably a brown out as people turned on their heaters with the sudden drop in temperature. (Later I heard a siren leading me to think someone had an accident and hit a pole.) I told the boys I needed to fix the clocks so everyone could get up on time tomorrow, but I would come back and check on them.

Charles fell asleep during my clock setting, but William was still sniffling. He saw me in the hallway and beckoned me in, saying he didn't want to wake Charles. He was still scared. Then he motioned me closer and said he had something sad to say. He broke down crying again and told me not to forget him. I asked what he meant, and he said if I did not see him for a long, long time, he didn't want me to forget him. I asked him why I wouldn't see him, and he answered in case bad guys got him. 

I told him he wasn't going anywhere. I told him God loves him and will protect him. I then told him I used to get really scared and got tummy aches and headaches, but then a Bible verse helped me: Don't worry about anything; pray about everything. I then explained in five year old terms what that means. I said somewhere in there that sometimes I worry about paying for everything, and he asked if we couldn't pay for the house, could we get a house car. I again said that God takes care of us and loves us, and he especially should not worry about anything because he has two parents to take care if him. Our job is to protect him. I told him God loves him so much and protects him and gave him to Mommy and Daddy to care for him. God also knew he needed a little brother and gave him Charles. 

I then told him to trust The Lord God with all his heart, his soul, and might. He said he doesn't have might. I told him might means strength. He said he doesn't have strength. I told him he does indeed. He knows right and wrong and makes sure people follow rules. He also protects Charles. He has lots of strength.

I then reminded him what the bishop said yesterday as he visited our church. He had his bishop bear Basil, and he said we can hug our teddy bears when we need to, but to remember God protects his children. I gave William his Duffy Bear from Mickey Mouse. I told him to hug Duffy, but pray to God, "I am scared tonight and need you to be with me and keep me safe tonight." William looked past me up towards the ceiling and suddenly broke into a giant smile. I asked what happened, and he said nothing. He kept smiling. I asked if he was ok now, and he said yes and told me to go now. I walked out with him still smiling. I started writing this post and then went back to check on him, and he was sound asleep. What happened to cause that immediate change and smile? How quickly that prayer was answered!