So it almost happened today. That sledding accident that you hope never happens. It almost happened. Almost is enough to make my mom's heart stop, but also make it so grateful.
It snowed most of the day yesterday and then turned to sleet and ice. By this morning our yard was a slick layer of beautiful whiteness. Most of us could crunch right through the layers as walked, but Elijah was not heavy enough to break the ice. He couldn't move without slipping and falling down. It was cute, but I finally took pity on him, and got a sled out and started pulling him around.
The kids discovered that they could sled right through the empty lot behind our house on the ice. There's not much of a slant in the land, so I wasn't worried about them getting hurt. Elijah watched them, thought it looked fun, and decided that he wanted to try. He lay belly down on the sled and Rylie gave him a little push. He took off. I didn't know a sled could go so fast on a non hill. His light weight sent him soaring over the ice. Rylie realized at once that this was not a good thing as Elijah was hurling towards the road. She began running as fast as she could after him. I was far enough behind that I knew unless I suddenly acquired the Flash's powers, I was useless. My heart was racing because I knew he had enough speed that he was going to fly through the ditch, across the road, and over the other side.
Rylie is very quick on her feet and was running hard behind him. I saw her fling her body outstretched as she reached her arms out to grab the sled. It looked like a slow motion moment on a movie as she just missed the sled and laid face down on the snow. (We later learned that she actually tripped on her boot and fell, but it looked very heroic at the time.)
Elijah kept sailing towards the road. I could do nothing but stand there and watch. Right as he reached the road the sled plowed into a pile of hard snow that the snow plow had left. The sled stopped short and his little body flew out onto the pile of hard snow too close to the road. Dan was there in an instant as Elijah lay there crying. He was ok, and I was filled with relief.
Rylie was really shaken up. We were actually on our way to go to a sledding hill. She promptly decided that we should just all go in the house where it is safe and no one would get hurt. I told her that we were going anyway and that it would be fine.
She looked at me and said, "but, Mom, I worry about Elijah and Kade because they don't know Jesus yet, and if something happens to them they won't go to heaven and be with Jesus." Then she turned to her brothers and started witnessing to them as we all sat in the snow in our front yard.. "You need to accept Jesus," she said. "You don't want to die without knowing Him, and we could die anytime. You don't know when you're going to die!" She was urgent as she kept talking, "Jesus is knocking on your heart door and He wants you to let Him in. Don't you want to accept Him? If you do, you will feel all wonderful inside."
She's 9. I was sitting on the snow with my children watching, listening, and feeling guilty. This child was witnessing to her brothers with a sense of urgency of one who had just faced death. She doesn't want any member of her family to die without knowing Jesus, and she's doing her best to make sure they know the way.
Her words resounded in my head, "You don't want to die without Him, and you could die at any time."
I looked around my neighborhood - "You could die at any time and you don't know Him."
I thought of people in my family - "You could die at any time and you don't know Him."
I see the world - "You could die at any time and you don't know Him."
And I grieved.
I grieved because I don't have a true heart for the lost.
Of course, I want them to know Jesus. But I don't even have the urgency of my 9 year old CHILD who will witness time after time to her brothers because she doesn't want them to die lost!
Who will tell my neighbors and my family if I don't? Who will tell them before they die without Him? They could die at any moment. My little son and my daughter reminded me of that today.
I want the heart of Christ, who gave up everything to die for the lost. I don't have it, but I want it.
.
I want the selflessness of Nate Saint and Jim Elliot who had guns, but refused to use them on the Aucas that were spearing them to death because they knew that they were headed to heaven, but that the Aucas, if killed, would go to hell and never have the opportunity to know Jesus. They gave up everything for the sake of the Gospel and a little tribe of Indians who had never heard it.
I want the heart of my daughter who has witnessed more in the last couple of years than I have.
"Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest."
Matthew 9:37-38
The harvest is HUGE. Christ died for all. The labourers are few.
I want to rise up from my comfortable "glad I'm saved, hope someone's telling you about Jesus, but it's probably not me" spot on my couch and be a labourer.
The labourers are few, but they could be one more.
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