Jesus in My Backyard

A few minutes ago, as I was laboring at the kitchen sink, up to my elbows in greasy water and soap bubbles, Bugga came in from the backyard announcing, "Jesus, backard, saw him," all while gesturing toward the roof in our backyard. So I asked him, "Is Jesus back there? Did you see Him?" Bugga's reply to both questions was a simple "Yes." Now, I want to interject here with some personal beliefs about Jesus and children. I firmly believe that the little ones on this earth are closer to heaven than anyone else. I believe that the veil is thin between heaven and children and that they see things we can only dream of. So, naturally, I kept the conversation going and asked Bugga what Jesus wanted. He said, "Food." And then Bugga shut the door and resumed play in the backyard. Less than a minute later he came in and started all over again, insisting that Jesus was in our backyard and that He was hungry. So, I asked Bugga what he thought Jesus would like to eat. Buddha had arrived at this point, not to be left out of anything, and he suggested carrots. I grabbed Bugga's half-eaten, yesterday carrot out of the fridge and offered it up to his eager little hands. He trotted outside with his carrot held high and proceeded to yell at the top of his lungs while holding his stump of a carrot toward the heavens, "JESUS! FOOD!" And then he turned toward the trees and offered his carrot toward the treetops, repeating his trumpeting food call. I got a bit teary-eyed as I thought of how much Jesus must love His little ones, especially when they acknowledge Him and try to care for Him. I know Bugga saw Jesus out there. He's still in here talking about it. In fact, I just asked him if he remembered to shut the door to the backyard when he came back in. He thought a second and then said, "Yes. Jesus stuck," and went running right back out. As I write this, he's banging on something and calling, "JE-sus! JE-sus!" I love him. And I love Him.