The Most Important Conversation

Several months ago, this baby giraffe was born at the Cincinnati Zoo, and she was Clay’s FAVORITE animal to see at the zoo.  He was obsessed with this giraffe, and every time we went, we had to start our tour there and end at Giraffe Ridge.  Well, about 6 weeks ago, that baby giraffe died.  She had broken her leg, and spent quite some time in a cast, but her leg kept getting worse, and the zoo had to make a difficult decision to end her life so she wouldn’t suffer anymore.

Well, I have been basically avoiding the zoo, because I knew that Clay would want to see the baby giraffe, and I just wasn’t ready to talk to him about death just yet.  I know that I can’t protect Clay forever from sadness and grief, but my protective nature just came out and we just “haven’t had time” to go to the zoo, and I’ve been in total avoidance of the zoo altogether so that I just don’t have to talk to him about it.

But of course Clay is 4, and it’s NORMAL for 4-year-olds to start realizing that things live and things die, and pretty naturally, 4-year-olds will start to question these things.  So, in my avoidance time, I haven’t wasted that time; I’ve been praying for God to prepare his heart and prepare my own and give me the words to say when the time would come for me to strip away part of his innocence to teach him about death, which CAN lead to great conversations about Heaven and Jesus and salvation.

And that time came this morning.  Clay woke up this morning and asked, “Mommy, when can we go back to the zoo and see the baby giraffe?  I miss her.”

I answered, “Well, we can go to the zoo today if you want, but there’s something I want to talk to you about first.”  I asked him to sit down next to me, and I said, “Clay, that baby giraffe died.  Do you know what that means?”

With big tears in his eyes, he said, “I think so.”

I said, “Clay, it means that the baby giraffe is not alive on earth anymore, but Jesus came and got the baby giraffe to take to Heaven and live with him.”

He asked, “Why, Mommy?  Why did Jesus take that giraffe to Heaven?”

I said, “Do you remember her broken leg?  Well her leg wasn’t getting any better, and that broken leg was actually making the giraffe be in so much pain and be very sick, and so rather than let that giraffe hurt so much, Jesus came and got the giraffe to live in Heaven with Him, where she won’t be in any pain anymore.”

Clay cried, big huge tears, and he said, “Mommy, is it still OK if I’m sad about the giraffe, even if she’s in Heaven with Jesus?”

Of course, by this time, I was crying, too (tears were literally streaming down my face and dripping off of my chin), and I said, “Yes, Clay, it is OK to be sad, and it’s OK to miss the baby giraffe, but you need to always remember that being with Jesus is ALWAYS best.  Clay, nobody in Heaven ever gets sick or feels hurt.”

Still crying, Clay said, “When will Jesus take me to Heaven?”  And then before I could answer, he cried even more and said, “Mommy, is Jesus going to take YOU to Heaven?”

I hugged him, really tight, and I said, “Clay, no one really knows when Jesus will come and take them to Heaven, but whenever he does, we are going to be FINE.  Heaven is such a cool place, and we are going to LOVE it there!”

He calmed down some, and wiped his face, and then asked me what is Heaven like.  I told him that we’ll get to see LOTS of people there, everyone who Jesus has already taken to Heaven before us, and the roads are made of gold, and the gates are made of shiny, pretty pearls.

Then, in true 4-year-old fashion, that was all fine, he totally was straightened up and didn’t say anything else about it, and just kind of ended the conversation with, “Can I watch cartoons now?”  So I let him, and that was that.

We then went to the zoo, and we went to see the giraffes, and he said, “Well there’s the Mommy & Daddy giraffe.  I bet they’re still sad about their baby.”  I told him they probably still were, and that sweet boy walked right over to the fence (where the giraffes were coincidentally both standing) and he said, “Don’t be sad.  Your baby is with Jesus and her leg doesn’t hurt anymore.”

I again had tears dripping off of my chin because of that sweet boy’s precious heart.