It was just an ordinary day of a grandmother helping a grandchild clean her room. I was in Birmingham visiting my son's family and my granddaughter, Peyton, wanted (well, maybe she was encouraged) to clean out her closet. It was early in the summer after her third-grade school year. The closet floor was piled high with clothes, shoes, and school "stuff" all the way up to her hanging clothes! I told her everything had to come out of the closet and then we would sort, throw away, and reorganize before putting it back. When we began to see the floor at the very bottom of the pile, I noticed some schoolwork that looked interesting with the title "Jesus is the Real Power (Not Magic)" in Peyton's handwriting. I picked it up and was immediately mesmerized at this child-made book stapled together.
I said, "Peyton, what is this?"
Peyton very casually looked over and said "Oh... it's a book I wrote last year".
It certainly did not have the appearance of a casual book a typical 8-year-old would write in public school. I think I knew right then that it was special, so I said, "Go put this beside my bed in the guest room and I will have time to read it this afternoon."
After a few more questions, I learned that Peyton's teacher had assigned the students a book writing project where students could write about any topic. Peyton chose to write about the Trinity, but she also included her belief about Satan and about heaven.
After reading her book later that day...as a teacher myself ... I knew that the magnitude of Peyton's understanding of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit was advanced for her age. I continue even now to be amazed that an eight-year-old child grasped "God in three persons" ...as many adults still struggle with that concept today as mature Christians.
