In a Child's Eyes....

I would like to introduce you to my long time friend, Courtney. Courtney is the kind of girl that brings you your favorite ice cream when your high school boyfriend breaks your heart. She's bright and funny and always the life of the party. Courtney's family is grieving the loss of her sweet Grandfather. Here she shares with us how God has taught her a lesson about faith from her son during this difficult time of loss.

Thank you, Courtney for sharing with us. Love you, Girl. And here is Courtney's story:

In a Child's Eyes...

This past week has been tough for my whole family. We have said a lot of prayers, shed a lot of tears and just really tried to support one another. Kieran has been a wonderful support to me; holding me when I cry and taking Connor from me when I need a moment alone. For his compassion, I am forever thankful. All of you, my friends, have also been a wonderful encouragement and I truly appreciate all your love, kind words and prayers. We knew this was coming and as much as I thought I had prepared my heart and head, it still hurt losing my grandfather. I have found solace in looking at pictures of my grandfather and Connor and just the simple fact that Connor was able to spend time with his great grandfather is of course, greatly comforting. Perhaps the greatest comfort though is the little man himself.

On Sunday he went with us to my grandparents house so I could say goodbye to my grandfather. We didn't think it appropriate for Connor to actually go in to say goodbye to my grandpa since he was in such a bad state, but he was a wonderful distraction for my Dad who was having a very difficult time that day and just watching Connor run around in the yard cheered us all up. I didn't know how much he understood or whether or not he grasped the severity of the situation, but that night as we were saying prayers he pulled me close and told me not to cry because Pop would soon be at a special party up in Heaven with Jesus. He said there would be lots of presents and cake (of course).

I was touched with how deep and undying his faith was in this difficult time. Wasn't I supposed to be the one explaining things gently to him and shielding him from the heartache of losing my grandfather? His conviction inspired me and reminded me that I hadn't put all of my faith in the Lord. I was scared but knew that I had to let go and trust that God had better plans for my Pop.

I was so proud of my Connor in that moment. I realized that it doesn't matter how old you are, anyone can have faith in our Lord. Each night at bedtime we say our prayers and Connor never forgets to pray for anyone on our prayer list. Case in point, he has been praying for a former colleague of Kieran's who lost his job for over 5 months now, even though we have explained that he found a new job and is doing better. Connor's response is always, "He still needs prayers mom." Isn't that true. We all need prayers. The love and compassion of a child is truly precious. We should all be inspired and encouraged by their large hearts and simple faith. As adults, we are skeptical and over-analyze every situation, if only we could learn to just trust and give control to the Lord our lives would be a lot easier. I don't know about you, but simply thinking of my Pop being at a party up in Heaven is a great reminder of God's love for us and definitely not far from the truth.

You can read more posts from Courtney at her blog here.