The D and J Words

Monday morning, I was working in the office when Brayden woke up. This is where the kids find me most mornings, unfortunately. Brayden asked if he could play on his iPad while we waited for the others to wake up, so I relented and said okay. About 20 minutes later, Brayden re-appeared in my office and looked upset. I asked him what was wrong. He said that he was sad because he had bad words going through his head and he couldn't get them out. Then I saw big tears forming in his eyes! I quickly pulled him onto my lap and snuggled him. I asked if he would share the bad words with me and he said no. So, we just snuggled a little longer and talked about things he could try and think about as soon as one of those words entered his head.

Eventually, Brayden shared with me that the bad words started with a "D" and "J." I quickly guessed "damn" and he nodded his head. Not to throw Brayden's daddy under the bus, but he says this word when he is frustrated. :) I started guessing what the "J" word could be. "Jerk?" Nope. "Jesus?" Nope. Hmmm... I was a bit stumped so I asked Brayden if he could spell it for me. He finally agreed and said it is "J-E-S-I-Z." I held back my smile and explained to him that Jesiz is not a bad word. It is not even a word. What he is hearing and then saying in his head is Jesus. And yes, using Jesus in a negative way is bad. It is one of the ten commandments not to take the Lord's name in vain. Unfortunately, our society uses "Jesus" and Oh My God" as common phrases. In my family, that is a no-no. So, Brayden and I decided that every time he thinks that word in his head, he will finish the sentence by thanking Jesus for something in his life. Then he will turn the negative connotation of Jesus into a positive one. Jesus, thank you for my home. Jesus, thank you for my health. You get the jist.

Just had to share that cute little story. I love that Brayden knew it was not right to have those words floating in his head, and he felt comfortable sharing with me. I just love his little heart: so honest and so pure.