Kristen, Clifford, & Jesus

This is Kristen, aka E, running buddy extraordinaire and star of one or two blog posts. (Or three.)

Both Janelle and Lilly have known E since they were pretty itty bitty. She's been around for as long as either of them can remember. In our home. In our lives. They chat often. They are eager to spend time with her and miss her when it's been a while. They know her likes (for instance her passion for the sea and affinity for the color orange) and her dislikes (beans - enough said). But more than just facts, they know HER.

They enjoy her.

They trust her.

They love her.

I wonder if we have done as good a job introducing our girls to Jesus as we did introducing them to E.

Is Jesus just an abstract character to them like Clifford the Big Red Dog or is He a real person to know and love and experience?

Do they aim routine bedtime prayers at the ceiling as something to check off the list like brushing their teeth or have we sparked in them a desire to talk with Jesus? To share their lives with Him?

If we stopped praying tomorrow would they notice? Better yet, would they miss it?

Have we taught them to run to Jesus with their biggest fears and worries? Their joys and triumphs?

Have we taught them that He is trustworthy? Faithful? Present?

Is He as real to them as Kristen is? Or we are? Or Nana, or anyone else?

Do they know Him? 

Because nothing else is more important.

Nothing.

Not their health, their happiness, their futures. Nothing in this world matters more than whether or not they know Jesus.

It's not about church. It's not about what we do. It's not about the rules we follow. It's not about living a life that magically balances out a set of imaginary scales.

In the end it comes down to

ONE

THING.

Do we know Him?

THAT is my prayer for my daughters. 

That they would know the joy of fellowship with the One who made them. That they would seek His heart above all else. That they would fall so madly in love with Jesus... my beautiful, extraordinary, matchless, intoxicating Jesus... that nothing else would compare.