Jonah's Request

A few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon, Jonah asked me if he could get my Bible and look at it. I told him he could and where it was. He found it and sat at the table, gently turning the pages and looking through it. Lately during church, he has been really interested in getting a pew Bible and trying to find the correct page and passage. He needs a lot of assistance but he really enjoys doing it. He also likes to get his own Hymnal and find the right page.

Anyway, after some time leafing through my Bible, he asks me, "Mommy... Your Bible is kinda old, and some of the pages are torn... Do you think... maybe... well... could I have it?"

My heart immediately melted into a puddle of mush.

I was so surprised and a bit awe-struck at his eagerness. "Well, sure, you can have it", I replied, "But would you rather we get you your very own new Bible?" My Bible is a bit old, and it has my maiden name on it. I'd have been happy to give it to him, but I thought getting him his own would be better.

His eyes lit up and he replied "Sure!", with a big grin on his face.

AWWWW!

He said a couple of his Sunday School classmates have their own Bibles and he wanted one, too.

I told Raymond about the conversation shortly after it happened and his thought was we could get Jonah one for Christmas. All I could think was, it's not like Jonah is asking for a video game, or a new toy, or even a cheap plastic piece of junk that would break before we got home. He is asking for a BIBLE! How can we not do it?!

The next day was Labor Day, and since Raymond had the day off, the four of us went on a field trip where we met up with his mom. We had so much fun looking at animals that are native to California, went out to lunch, and then got in the car to head home. While we were driving, I brought up the Bible again. Raymond said he thought we could wait and give Jonah one as a reward for learning how to read, but I said Jonah could use it to learn how! Why not get him one? Raymond then decided we should go ahead and do it, and since we were already out and about, we figured we could stop at the local Christian bookstore and see if they were open since it was a holiday. Thankfully it was open, and it had a sign on the door saying that most items in the store were 20% off in honor of the holiday. Even better!

Raymond made sure I wasn't planning on getting a children's picture Bible, which was not my plan. We both agreed we'd look for a New King James Version since that is what we use at church and Awana. We wanted a nice Bible with a leather cover. I really wanted to have Jonah's name imprinted on it too. After browsing we found the perfect one, a reddish-brown leather Bible that was thin, so it would be easy for Jonah to carry. We let Jonah choose between the black or brown. We were told we could pick up the Bible the next day since the person who did the name printing was not in to do it right away.

Jonah couldn't wait to go back and get it! I was so proud and excited for him. How special!

Later, Raymond asked me if I knew why Jonah even wanted a Bible. No, I didn't. Well, apparently Jonah told him that he wanted his own Bible because "It was the most beautiful and decorative book he'd ever seen, with the gold, shiny pages."

OK, so maybe it wasn't for the holiest of reasons!

But he does now own his own Bible, which I haven't taken pictures of yet, but I wanted to go ahead and post this since it is already a bit of "old news". He has really loved getting to take it to church, and remembers to all on his own, and he loves using it during our worship service. He takes really good care of it and warns Nathan to be careful with it. It is so cute and wonderful to see!

AWWWW!

And now poor Nathan is already asking when he can have his own Bible. Raymond told him when he turns 5 and starts kindergarten he can get one. Now Nathan is asking me if he can please have one when he turns 4 instead.

AWWWW!

What should I do? I hate to deny my kids something so precious!