Oh, What a Difference...

"Like a blind man I wandered, so lost and undone. A beggar so helpless without God or His Son. Then my Savior in mercy heard and answered my cry. Well, oh, what a difference since Jesus passed by! Since Jesus passed by...well, I can't explain it and I cannot tell you why, but oh, what a difference since Jesus passed by."

I work at a daycare so everyday I hear a LOT of things come out of kids mouths (Yes, parents, I know lots of things! :P). Sometimes what they say is funny. Sometimes I am shocked to hear what they say. Sometimes they amaze me with what they know. And then sometimes, they just bless me all over and melt my heart! Tuesday was one of those days. The heart melting kind! I'll get back to why the daycare is relevant here in a minute but first you need to know some things.

The little girl on the left is my baby cousin (Don't tell me she's not a baby. I'm in denial. Leave me alone.). I've watched her grow up and been there for a lot of the big moments in her life. I was never more happy to be there for a moment in her life than I was in the week that this picture was taken. It was Vacation Bible School week and she was in 1st grade. Just 7 years old. I had a big and wild class that year and had never been quite so stressed in VBS before. But Thursday morning made it worth it all. I had the privilege of leading 5 sweet children to the Lord that morning, including my baby girl.

The picture to the right is that afternoon when she was given a Bible after being saved. Looks like the same little girl, right down to the missing teeth, but let me tell you, she was different. In the first picture she was an adorable little girl with a cute grin and dimples. But she was lost, without Jesus. In this picture though, she was still that same adorable kiddo, but now, she has the best gift ever given living in her heart, Jesus.

Back to the daycare. Tuesday, we were talking about prayer in worship. Stevie, my coworker, asked the kids to name some prayers that God had answered for them. My girl, Cassidy, and another little one raised their hands and both of them gave the same response, "When Jesus saved me!". Like I said, they melted my heart right then and there. I realized something about them though. Cassidy was saved over a year ago. The other little girl was only saved about 2 weeks ago. But when I looked at them and the smiles that lit up their little faces I saw the same thing. They were both thrilled to death to have Jesus in their hearts. I'm so glad that the joy of knowing Jesus hasn't faltered in either of their little hearts. I think about what Jesus said about the little children. You have to be like a little child to enter into the kingdom of God. Their boundless joy is one thing that we adults could definitely use some of. So here's my prayer: Lord, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation!