Conversation with Jordan's Nieces

Here is a recap of a conversation I had with Averie and Austin Kate last week:

Jaime: "Guess what, girls? Next week we get to go spend a bunch of days in Grammyland with Uncle Judi!"

AK: "Yay! Grammyland AND Uncle Judi!"

Ave: "Does he have some days off from being a GI Joe?"

Jaime: "Yes. He has about a week off to come bring some of his stuff home and spend some special time with his family before he goes on his big trip."

Ave and AK: "What big trip?"

I took a deep breath because we have talked about Uncle Judi's "big trip" everyday for months and prayed about it at least twice a day since we found out!

Jaime: "You know, girls, Uncle Judi's big trip to fight the bad guys."

Ave and AK: "Oh, yeah."

Ave: "I was kinda hoping he wouldn't have to go on that trip."

Jaime: "Me too."

AK: "Why does Uncle Judi have to fight the bad guys?"

Jaime: "Because they are bad guys and Uncle Judi is a good guy. The bad guys do mean things to innocent people and Uncle Judi is a brave and nice that he is going to go stop them from being mean."

Ave: "Will he have to use his gun?"

Jaime: "Yes. He will use all of his weapons and tools and training so that he can do his job well."

AK: "Do the bad guys have guns and weapons?"

Jaime: "Yes."

AK: "Are they going to try and hurt Uncle Judi?"

Ave: "Could Uncle Judi die on his big trip?"

Jaime: "They might try to hurt Uncle Judi, but he has lots of training and lots of other good guys helping him, and he has something that those bad guys don't have. He has Jesus with him every step of the way. We just have to trust that Jesus is going to take care of him."

Ave: "I don't want him to go."

AK: "Me either."

Jaime: "I know, babies. I don't want him to go either, but we need brave soldiers like Uncle Judi to keep us safe. God only chooses special people with special families to go to war, and He knew that Uncle Judi and our family was special enough. "

Ave: "Will they make him go even if we tell him he's an uncle?"

Jaime: "Yes. There are even Mommies and Daddies that have to go to war."

Ave: "We should pray for them too."

Jaime: "Yes, we most definitely should."

Ave: "At least he will be home for Christmas!"

Jaime: "No, baby. He won't be home for Christmas. He won't be home until next summer. "

AK: "Everybody has to come home for Christmas! It's what we do!"

Jaime: "Not this year, but next year we will all be together at Christmas."

Ave: "Promise?"

Jaime: "Yes, I promise."

-posted by Jaime