*No Wonder*

Children; God's gift from above and precious treasures He takes great delight in. He speaks of how the Kingdom belongs to such as these and I understand more of what that means after a moment with a little girl tonight.

I was babysitting two 6 yr. olds from my kindergarten class which went really well until bedtime. I kissed the kids goodnight and went downstairs to watch "House Hunters" for a little while. About fifteen minutes later I heard little footsteps coming down the stairs in a terrified fashion. I looked back to see a little girl with a blankie over her head and fear in her eyes.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" I said and motioned for her to come sit with me on the couch. "I'm really scared" she said with wide eyes. "Oh no…why are you scared? Why don't we go upstairs and talk about it together while I snuggle you up in bed."

We went up the stairs really quietly so we wouldn't wake her brother up. Once I tucked her back in bed I asked more questions to try to figure out what was going on. "A robber is going to come in my house!" she said in all seriousness. "Why would you think that? You are very safe." I said trying to convince her that there was nothing to fear. She then went on to tell about how people had guns in Batman and she thinks they will come and get her. Her face told the story that she truly believed she was in danger. I tried to calm her down: "You are in a really nice neighborhood with alarm systems, and did you know bad people are afraid of alarm systems? And besides, the Lord is our protector and He promises to help us and tells us not to fear."

I asked her where her bible was and we opened up to the back and read all the verses about fear and how the Lord says to fear not and that He is with us. As I was reading those verses she held onto them like her life depended on it. I would talk to her about each verse and say things like: "See? Jesus will take care of us because He loves us. We are His treasures. It makes Him sad when we are afraid. And even if something not very fun did happen, God would bring good from it. Did you know that? The only people who need to fear are those who are not on God's side."

"Bad people don't know God do they?" she said with a thoughtful tone. "No, I don't think they do. They should be the ones who are truly scared! Jesus has more power than anyone else by far, so it doesn't look very good for them." She changed her mood at the realization that she is on the right team and the bad guys are not.

"Well, the night is still kind of spooky." she said a little less scared. "Yep, it can get kind of spooky sometimes. But you know what I do? When I'm scared I say 'Jesus, I'm scared! Help me, please.' I think you should try that. He is always with you. You have faith when you know He is sitting beside you just like I am right now. When you are scared Jesus is hugging you even when you can't see him."

Her eyes softened and she cuddled down further in bed. She closed her eyes with all of her fear gone. "Are you okay if I go back downstairs? He is with you even when I'm gone so there is no reason to be afraid." "You are right." she said "He is here." Then she grabbed her stuffed animal and fell asleep with all of her fears and doubts wiped away by her Savior. If only we all had faith come so easily. No wonder the Lord holds the little ones close to His heart.