I'm a little bit of a Christian

A few nights ago I put Liberty to bed in her own room, which we rarely do.  She still sleeps with us most of the time.  Since we don't make her sleep in her room very often, I never know how she is going to react on the nights we do.  Sometimes she goes right to sleep.  Sometimes she has a total meltdown.  Other times she just sings and talks to herself until she falls asleep.  On this particular night she seem fairly content.  I could hear her talking from down the hall.  Suddenly, I could her her yelling a question from her room.  I try to ignore this most of the time because its usually just her attempt to get me to come back into the room.  I went down the hall so I could hear the question to determine if it was worthy of an answer.  She was yelling "Mom, what is a Christian?"  She is so clever, of course this question could not go unanswered, so I went into her room.  Here is how the conversation went...

Liberty:  "Mom, what is a Christian?"
Me:  "A Christian is someone who loves Jesus with all his heart and follows His commandments."
Liberty:  "Well, I'm a little bit of a Christian."
Me:  "Do you love Jesus with all your heart?"
Liberty:  "A little--I was just talking to Him.  He gave me a hug."

Oh my sweet girl.  She may not completely understand what it means to be a Christian.  She probably doesn't even fully understand what it means to love and be loved completely by Jesus.  What she does know is that she can talk to her Jesus anytime she wants.  She has conversations with Him and He talks to her!  She hears His sweet voice in her head and she feels His arms around her!

As a mother, I constantly worry about how I am doing as a parent.  I wonder if I'm teaching her the right things and equipping her for a future where she has to make her own decisions and find her own way.  I struggle with the influences this world may have on her and if she will be strong enough to believe Truth and dismiss the lies.  But, when I hear her talk about Jesus as if He is just another one of her friends, I am so encouraged.  I'm not perfect.  I will never teach her everything she needs to know.  I will never be able to sheild her from all the storms or protect her heart at all times.  Where I fail--Jesus steps in to fill those gaps.  Fostering her love and relationship with her Savior is the most important investment I can make because even though I will fail her along the way--He never will!