Hudson and I have had many, many conversations about heaven in the past 5 and a 1/2 months. He is in awe of it. He wants to know everything about it.

What it’s like? Where is it? Can we drive there?

Basically, he just wants to know where his G is. And why he didn’t need to take his truck. And when we can go see him.

Kevin and I have tried different ways of explaining this. We’ve told him that it’s the best place you could possibly imagine. That no, we can’t drive there, but we can go there one day.

One of our conversations went like this:

Hudson: We’re going to Zuzu and G’s, uh, Zuzu’s house?

Me: Yes, and you can still call it Zuzu and G’s.

Hudson: G’s in heaven?

Me: Yes he is.

Hudson: Where is it?

Me: It’s where God is.

Hudson: Where?

Me: Well it may be way up past the clouds and sky.

Hudson: Lemme get my yadder (ladder).

When we talk about it, I always think about how hard this is for him. He’s just a baby. I don’t understand it all, how can we expect him to?!

And then today he said this. We had gone outside to fetch our pup, Charlie, and Hudson brought his Bible.

Hudson: Want me to tell you a story from here, Mama?

Me: Sure!

Hudson (with Bible open): When Jesus comes, He’ll get us and we’ll all go to heaven!

And there it is. The whole Bible summed up by my precious (almost) 2 1/2 year old. He stood there with a big grin like he’d told me some big secret. And I thought, it is that simple. Maybe we as adults make it hard. We want to know the whys and the hows. But really, all we need to do is obey Him and He’ll come back and get us.

God knew how much I needed this boy. He knew that Hudson could say the right thing that could make my string of bad days missing Daddy easier. Because I sometimes feel like Peter, when he asks Jesus to call him out on the water, and he begins to sink. I sometimes let the grief swallow me up like that water. And then just as I’m about to go under, He holds out His hand. Sometimes, it’s a card from a friend letting me know they haven’t forgotten. Sometimes, it’s my church family. And sometimes, it’s my 2 year old.

Yes, God knew what I would need.

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16 (NIV)

 

Pictures taken by Stephanie Johnson.