It was not the first time a topic relating to God brought my young son to tears.

After reading a bedtime story that mentioned Heaven, he began to sniffle and the tears began. “I don’t ever want to go to Heaven.”

My daughter hugged him and told him God loves him and has a place prepared just for him. She asked him to imagine a room full of his favorite toys, “Heaven will be greater than that!” He cried harder and looked at me, “I don’t want to be with God, I want to stay here with you!”

We were all tired. I acknowledged his fears and pulled his sobbing body close. I tried to redirect his thoughts, but he would not let it go.

I shared with him God has a purpose for him on Earth. He does not get to go to Heaven yet, but that didn’t help. My son did not want a job or to leave this place and the people he loved to go to a “fantasy world” of Heaven no matter how much God loved him or his sister tried to sell it to him.

I understood his fear. Not only from the developmental standpoint that he had not yet grasped the universality of death, but from the common thought that his life was heaven enough. He had heard “Jesus loves me, this I know” since he was born, but that did not mean he believed it.

He is young, but he already sees the contradiction between a loving God and a world where bad things happen. He asks practical, amazing questions like, “Why would God make me sick?” and, “Why did God make worms to dry up in the sun?” I may be able to breeze over these questions now, but that is not going to cut it as he grows older and witnesses tragedies in life.

I realized he, I and everyone needs the truth in the second line of the all familiar song, “For the Bible tells me so.” The Word of God shares the entire story of his plan that reveals His mercy, sacrifice, justice and grace, all things that scream genuine LOVE for us. To have any hope of facing fears and answering the hard questions that beckon each one of us, we must know the whole story.

It explains why death feels scary and unnatural. God made us to live with him eternally. We were not created to die, worms were not intended to shrivel up and sickness directly reflects the evil that first entered the world at the beginning of time.

It explains why God has rules for people just like parents have rules for kids. The rules are for our safety, protection and for a bigger purpose, but like every child breaks his parent’s rules, every human breaks God’s rules; we all sin. That includes me, my son and the “bad guys” on the news.

It explains the effect of sin beyond our daily life and into eternity. As we stub our toe, grieve over a loss of a loved one or learn of inhumane acts occurring, we are reminded that this place is not Heaven. Heaven is a place without sin, thus, we cannot go there. No matter how much good we do, we are marked by it, and therefore separated from God.

The Gospel explains God’s love is much more than him wanting to be with us and having a purpose for us. It is about him saving us from a terrifying eternity at an enormous cost to Him. His selfless act to leave His perfect dwelling place and live a life of service and painful sacrifice made a way for our mark of sin to be erased. He took the blame for all we have done and will do wrong so that we might accept the gift and live with Him in Heaven.

It seems this is a ton of information to throw on a child, and it is. This story of God’s plan and His character is not one to be told once. It is something that can relate to all things, whether it be fears, questions, bedtime stories, worms or illness.

My son is young, but as he and I continue to learn more about God through His Word, I pray we will understand and confidently sing, “Jesus Loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

So God Made a Mother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Order Now

Check out our new Keepsake Companion Journal that pairs with our So God Made a Mother book!

Order Now
So God Made a Mother's Story Keepsake Journal

Allison Struber

Allison Struber is a military spouse and mother of three. Inspired by her kid’s energy and her husband’s dry humor, she spends her days teaching character development in schools, volunteering and trying to figure out a ways to bottle up the sweet moments in life. Find her at fb.me/STEMwritings.  

A Big Family Can Mean Big Feelings

In: Faith, Kids, Motherhood
Family with many kids holding hands on beach

I’m a mother of six. Some are biological, and some are adopted. I homeschool most of them. I’m a “trauma momma” with my own mental health struggles. My husband and I together are raising children who have their own mental illnesses and special needs. Not all of them, but many of them. I battle thoughts of anxiety and OCD daily. I exercise, eat decently, take meds and supplements, yet I still have to go to battle. The new year has started slow and steady. Our younger kids who are going to public school are doing great in their classes and...

Keep Reading

Motherhood Never Stops, and Neither Does My God

In: Faith, Motherhood
Daughter kisses mother on cheek

I’m standing in the shower rinsing the conditioner out of my hair with a toddler babbling at my feet, running through this week’s dinner menu in my head. “Hmm, this meal would be better suited for this day, so what should we do instead?” or “Maybe we should save that for next week since it’s easy and we will be busy with baseball starting back up. I can work something in that may take more effort in its place.” Being a wife and mother, running a household, it’s about the small moments like this. There’s something about it that is...

Keep Reading

So God Made a Sunday School Teacher

In: Faith, Living
Woman sitting at table surrounded by kids in Sunday school class, color photo

God looked around at all He had created, and He knew He would need someone to teach His children. So God made a Sunday school teacher. God knew He needed someone with a heart and desire to teach children God’s word. God knew the children would act up and made Sunday school teachers with patience and grace to guide them when they step out of line in class. He also made Sunday school teachers with a touch of discretion to know when the stories of a child may be real or imagined. God knew this person would need to be...

Keep Reading

But God, I Can’t Forgive That

In: Faith, Marriage
Woman holding arms and walking by water

Surrender is scary. Giving in feels like defeat. Even when I know it’s the right thing, yielding everything to God is scary. It also feels impossible. The weight of all I’m thinking and feeling is just so dang big and ugly. Do you know what I mean? Sometimes I cling so tightly to my fear I don’t even recognize it for what it is. Bondage. Oppression. Lack of trust. Oh, and then there’s that other thing—pride. Pride keeps me from seeing straight, and it twists all of my perceptions. It makes asking for help so difficult that I forget that...

Keep Reading

Dear Dad, I Pray for Our Healing

In: Faith, Grief, Grown Children
Back shot of woman on bench alone

You are on my mind today. But that’s not unusual. It’s crazy how after 13 years, it doesn’t feel that long since I last saw you. It’s also crazy that I spend far less time thinking about that final day and how awful it was and spend the majority of the time replaying the good memories from all the years before it. But even in the comfort of remembering, I know I made the right decision. Even now, 13 years later, the mix of happy times with the most confusing and painful moments leaves me grasping for answers I have...

Keep Reading

God Redeemed the Broken Parts of My Infertility Story

In: Faith, Grief, Loss, Motherhood
Two young children walking on a path near a pond, color photo

It was a Wednesday morning when I sat around a table with a group of mamas I had just recently met. My youngest daughter slept her morning nap in a carrier across my chest. Those of us in the group who held floppy babies swayed back and forth. The others had children in childcare or enrolled in preschool down the road. We were there to chat, learn, grow, and laugh. We were all mamas. But we were not all the same. I didn’t know one of the mom’s names, but I knew I wanted to get to know her because she...

Keep Reading

God Has You

In: Faith, Motherhood
Woman hugging herself while looking to the side

Holding tight to the cold, sterile rail of the narrow, rollaway ER bed, I hovered helplessly over my oldest daughter. My anxious eyes bounced from her now steadying breaths to the varying lines and tones of the monitor overhead. Audible reminders of her life that may have just been spared. For 14 years, we’d been told anaphylaxis was possible if she ingested peanuts. But it wasn’t until this recent late autumn evening we would experience the fear and frenzy of our apparent new reality. My frantic heart hadn’t stopped racing from the very moment she struggled to catch a breath....

Keep Reading

My Husband Having a Stroke at 30 Wasn’t in Our Plans

In: Faith, Living
Husband and wife, selfie, color photo

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV) This verse in the book of Jeremiah has long been a favorite of mine. In fact, it’s felt relevant across many life events. Its simple, yet powerful reminder has been a place of solace, perhaps even a way to maintain equilibrium when I’ve felt my world spinning a bit out of control. In this season of starting fresh and new year intentions, I find great comfort in knowing...

Keep Reading

She Left Him on Valentine’s Day

In: Faith, Marriage
Husband kissing wife on cheek, color photo

“Can you believe that?” Those were the dreaded knife-cutting whispers I heard from across the table. I sunk deeper into my chair. My hopes fell as everyone would forever remember that I had left my fiancée on Valentine’s Day. Maybe one day it would just dissipate like the dream wedding I had planned or the canceled plane tickets for the Hawaiian honeymoon. Some bridesmaids and guests had already booked plane tickets. It was my own nightmare that kept replaying in my head over and over again. I had messed up. Big time. To be honest, if it made any difference,...

Keep Reading

God was In the Room for Our Daughter’s Open Heart Surgery

In: Faith, Motherhood
Child's hand with IV

I’ve had a strong faith for as long as I can remember, but I always felt bad that I never had a “testimony.” I had never gone through something that made me sit back and say, “Wow, God is real, He is here.” I have always felt it to my core, but no moment had ever stopped me dead in my tracks to where there was no denying that it was God. And then, that moment happened to me on December 5. After five months of fervently praying for a miracle for our daughter, the day came for her heart...

Keep Reading