Joe asks, "Should I Kill Myself?"

So, we're on our way to church today and Joe sits in thought. Eventually, he says, "Mama, if you die first, do you want me to kill myself so you wont have to wait for me in Heaven?"

WOW... gulp, he we go...

Now, Joe is a special 5yr old who wants the guts of the story. He wants THE TRUTH and he really wants to understand. As his mom, it's hard for me to decide sometimes "how far to go" with the truth and him.

I told him, "No buddy, I wouldn't want you to kill yourself.  That is against the rules that the Bible sets up for our lives.  Jesus gives us the Bible to help us understand what is ok and what is not, and that is one of those things we just don't do.... Only God can decide when we get to go to Heaven and how."  He said, "Well, I mean, I could just get a gun and shoot myself so I could be with you."  BIGGER GULP. SHEESH kid!

I reiterated... NO! lol I told him, "If God chooses to bring me to Heaven, that means that my job on earth is done. But, if He chooses for you to stay here on earth, then your job isn't done yet." I went on to tell him, "While we live on this earth, we need to tell people that Jesus loves them and He died on the cross to save them from their sins.  Mama will be happy in Heaven knowing you are sharing Jesus' love!" 

He said, "ok." =) That's it... He got it, he liked it, he was done.

It was kind of disturbing to me that he brought up getting a gun and shooting himself. He doesn't play fighting video games and he's never even seen his Dad's gun... not sure where that came from.

So... Heaven, Suicide, Sadness... yeah, he's 5. LOL... I'm thankful the Lord tends to jump in and give me grace to approach Joe the right way for these types of moments! =)