Heaven and Hell

Jackson is just like me in so many ways. We worry about things we cannot change, things that are inevitable, like death. Like, it hurts our stomachs worry. He asks things about it all the time and these are subjects I avoid because in my happy little world, all things are good, never sad, never painful.

One night while I am at work, I get a message from my mother telling me that she has scared Jackson and he will probably never talk to her again, but will most likely be telling me about it and she wanted me to be prepared. When I got home, she tells me just exactly what it is she has done:

Apparently, this happened over several hours. He kept coming back and asking questions...just like he did me when he asked me about dying.

Jackson asked her if the Devil was real. She explained to him that the Devil is indeed real, but that you can't see Him like you do on t.v., like with horns and a pointy tail. (What!!! He doesn't have horns and a pointy tail?!!!) She expains that the Devil was an angel, but he did wrong by God and God banished him from Heaven. Jackson intrigued says, "Really?"

The questions start coming: What does he look like? Can he come here? Does he really live under the ground?

She explained that you can see the devil in people, like when someone is being real mean, that is the devil. He lives everywhere and yes indeed he can come here.

Jackson walks away, watches a little cartoons and comes back. "Well, can he hurt me? How do I know he is here? Where does he live?

My mother then tells him, "Yes, if you do what the devil wants then he can hurt you and he will try to trick you to hurt you. He lives in Hell." She then goes on to try to explain Heaven and Hell to the boy. She of course, now realizes she has dug herself into a hole and doesn't know how to get out of what she started. So she tried to explain to him about the angel sitting on your shoulder and the devil sitting on the other shoulder like in cartoons.

Jackson went away, watched some cartoons, used the bathroom and came back. He asked, "What happens if you listen to the devil on your shoulder?" You guessed it! She tells him that he will go to Hell! His eyes get wide. He tears up. She just tells him, "That is why we listen to the angel and not the devil, so that we won't have to go to Hell.

Tee hee.

My mother calls her mother and explains what has happened and is wanting to be reassured that she has done a good job of explaining this to a five-year-old. My grandmother helps her recover the mess she has made by telling her that she left out the most important part, asking Jesus for forgiveness. Oh yeah!!!! That would be a good part to add.

Poor boy, is scarred for life, but you know what, every time he has done something wrong. He stops what he is doing, gets down on his knees and prays. Go Grammy!!

God Bless,
Malia