The Moments that Make it All Worth It (#1)

So, I know you're not supposed to just copy and paste someone else's blog. . . but since this is from my dear husband, I guess it isn't exactly plagiarism, right?

For those of you familiar with my children, "boy 1" here is Speedy Mo, and "boy 2" is Chatty.

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Creeping Boys and Nighttime Confessions

Last night (about 10:30...well after bedtime) I could hear my two nine year old boys creeping toward the kitchen as I sat with my wife on the couch preparing to watch a movie. Here's how it played out:

Dad (D): Yes?

Boys (B): *silence*

D: Come here.

B: Dad, we want to tell you something. (How many of us dad's have heard this one before? I braced for discovering the inevitable...that I would indeed have to replace something, again.) We've been talking.

D: Okay...

B1: Dad, I'm sorry I haven't been respecting you and mom and not obeying you. Will you forgive me? I want to repent to God and give God glory and not be in charge of my own life anymore. I want to follow Jesus even if it's hard.

B2: Mom, Dad, I'm sorry too that I haven't been obeying and respecting you. Will you forgive me? I want to repent to God and follow Jesus, even if it's hard. I want God to get all the glory.

Mom (M) & D: We forgive you and we love you. Do you want to pray and tell God all of this too?

So they prayed. Then I prayed. They cried. We talked a while longer. It was special.

Instead of having to replace something, God had done that already...and the boys just wanted to tell me about it. God had been pursuing them since they had come to be in our family (B1...adopted almost four years ago and B2...adopted 1 1/2 years ago)...and they finally understood that they were sinners in need of forgiveness and grace (not just from Mom & Dad, but from God). God replaced their hearts of stone with hearts of flesh...softened enough to hear the Holy Spirit speaking to them and courageous enough to "get out of bed" to come talk to us about it.

I'm proud of my boys, praising God for their nine-year old confession, and looking forward to the Holy Spirit's work in their hearts and lives. I think I need God to continue to soften my heart too, so I can keep hearing Him more clearly; that I would be reminded of my own sinfulness; and that I would "repent to God" more often than I do.