Nathan next to the marble run at Children's Hospital, finally heading home after spinal fusion surgery.

It was 3:00am, and I was in a spiritual crisis.  Tears were trailing down Nathan’s temples as he lay in a hospital bed at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans; he was fighting pain and trying to get used to his new body cast.  It had only been a year since his open heart surgery in Michigan.  Now I was watching him struggle to recover from spinal fusion surgery.  Doubt was creeping in–I was wondering how God could let this happen again, and I felt helpless and abandoned.

While I was dabbing his tears with a wadded piece of tissue, Nathan looked at me and quietly said, “Mom, I remember the principle of finders keepers.”

“Finders keepers?” I repeated with confusion.  Maybe he was delirious–talking nonsense, I thought.

Then Nathan said something I will never forget:  “God says, ‘I will never leave you; I will never forsake you.’  When you find God, you get to keep Him.”

I was too stunned to respond.  Such faith coming from a six-year-old.  He stared at me for a moment, then closed his eyes, leaving the skin at his brows to soften and settle.  Seems he had finally succumbed to his pain medication and had mercifully drifted off to sleep.  I don’t think any pastor has preached a sermon that bowled me over as much as Nathan did that night.

[Many thanks to Mrs. Kay VanderLey.  I learned weeks later that she taught Nathan the "principle of finders keepers" during Sunday School at Grace Memorial Baptist Church.]

Here are a few special stories about Nathan:  Nathan’s Prayer, Before the Back Surgery, and Reminiscing:  Nathan Buys the Shark Professional Cordless Sweeper.