Jesus loves the little Children

Do you remember that song?
"Jesus loves the Little children
All the children of the world
Red, Yellow, Black or White
They are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the Little children of the world"

After her family transferred from one military base to another, Jenny was excited to have cousins close by for the first time in her life. She especially liked playing with Beth, an only child, who had every doll and accessory a little girl could possibly want. Naturally, when Beth asked Jenny to spend the weekend with her, Jenny didn't hesitate in saying, "Yes!"

The girls played happily all day Saturday before taking their baths and getting ready for bed. Once they were settled in, Beth told Jenny her Grandmother would be coming by in the morning to take them to Sunday School. At first, Jenny was slightly worried, but Beth assured her everything would be okay. "Our teacher is really nice and if you didn't bring anything to wear, you can borrow a dress from me." She offered. "And after church, Grandma always takes me out to eat and lets me order anything I want. I don't even have to choose something from the kid's menu."

Jenny felt like a princess the next morning in her borrowed dress. Beth showed her how to make her ruffled skirt stick straight out by putting two can-cans under it. The two girls twirled excitedly, watching their skirts spin like pinwheels while waiting for Beth's grandmother to pull into the drive.

The church was close by, and upon their arrival, Beth rushed Jenny to her classroom to introduce her to her friends. Everyone was so friendly. Jenny soon relaxed and began to join in as the class formed a circle and sang Jesus Loves Me. Then the teacher began doing something that made Jenny very uncomfortable. She stepped into the center of the circle and began pointing to each child saying, "Jesus loves YOU.... and Jesus loves YOU..... and Jesus loves YOU... "

Jenny's eyes began to sting as she tried so hard to hold back the salty tears that were forming rapidly. She didn't know what she was going to do. As the teacher approached her side of the circle, the fear was overwhelming and tears began to flow. She just knew the teacher would approach the child on her left and say, "Jesus loves YOU!" and then skip right past her to say, "Jesus loves YOU!" again to the child on her right. As a victim of both physical and emotional child abuse, Jenny felt that she was unlovable. She thought she would be completely passed by.... because no one loved her, she was sure of that.

But you know what?

Jenny was wrong! The teacher didn't pass her by. Instead she looked right into Jenny's moist eyes, smiled, and said "Jesus loves YOU!" in such a way that Jenny actually believed that it was true.

Jesus loved HER!

As the realization of His love began to set in, so did a desire to find out all she could about this Jesus. After class, Jenny asked the teacher to tell her more. The teacher lovingly explained the plan of salvation and Jenny made a decision to ask Jesus into her heart only to be informed that she was too young.

Later, during the worship service, the preacher gave an altar call. Again, Jenny responded with a real desire to start a relationship with this Jesus who loved HER! But again, she was told she was too young. The preacher prayed a "blessing" over her and went on to pray the sinner's prayer with an older gentleman who had also came forward.

After the service, Jenny was still unsatisfied. She was determined not to leave until someone led her to the Lord. She approached several very spiritual looking adults with big Bibles before finally finding a young woman who was willing to pray. This soft spoken young woman joyfully shared her heart with Jenny and led her to the Lord.

As God's plan for her life unfolded, Jenny's love for children began to grow. As an adult, Jenny became very involved in ministering to children