Jacob

Letting go of the foster home manager’s hand, a little boy walked up to the pastor in his little brown suit.

“Good morning, young sir,” said the kind pastor with a warm smile. “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” said the little boy in a brave voice.

“Welcome, Jacob. You can call me Pastor David.”

The boy nodded, looked up at the picture of Jesus on the cross and smiled. Pastor David smiled too.

“Where is your mother and father?” he asked.

Jacob looked back at him. “I don’t know.”

The pastor’s face drooped a little as he looked at the boy, with the smudged nose, worn shoes, and torn jacket. “Do you have a mother?” he asked.

“Nope,” said the boy.

“A father?”

“Not really,” said the boy.

“Siblings?”

“Nope.”

The old pastor sighed, having seen this many times before. “Jacob, what do you mean, not really?”

Jacob smiled again, pointing with a grimy finger. “That’s my daddy.”

Pastor David turned to find the boy pointing at the picture of Jesus. Again, he smiled too. Never in his life had the pastor heard an orphan say this before.

Then the boy began to speak again. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

“First Corinthians 2:9,” said the pastor.

The boy looked away from the picture of Jesus to the pastor for only a moment, than turned his gaze back to the cross. “Can I tell you something?” the boy asked.

Pastor David nodded.

“I was scared, so Daddy told me that what he had prepared for us was wonderful.”

The pastor looked at the boy, playing along with the game, not believing the small child in front of him. “When did he tell you this?”

“During the car crash when my Mommy and my other Daddy left. He said they were happy, and I would be too. Now he tells me that everyday.”

The pastor nodded again. “He’s a good father, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” said the boy. “And I just want you to know, Daddy told me to personally tell you.”

“What did he want you to tell me?”

The boy turned and kept eye contact with the pastor this time. “That it’s wonderful there, and that she’s ok.”

The pastor’s eyes welled up. “Why did he tell you to say that?”

Still staring at the pastor the boy answered softly. “Because he knows you’re struggling.”

Choked with tears, Pastor David got on his knees and held the little boy’s hands. “How did you know about my wife?”

Jacob stroked the old, wrinkled face. “Daddy told me.”