Adults you're close to

Jesus, thank you for the special adults in my life! Amen.

Jesus told a crowd, "My sheep -- my followers -- know my voice when they hear it, and they follow me. I help them to live forever with God, and no one can take them away from me, because God, my Father, gave them to me. God the Father and I are really the same person."

Is there an adult in your life who's really special to you? Some kids have a favorite aunt, cousin, babysitter, teacher or mentor.

If your parents are busy or you need to talk to someone outside your family, that special person might be the adult you turn to.

When you're around one of your favorite adults, you feel safe and happy. You know the person would never hurt you, and that you can ask questions and just vent when you're upset.

It's great to have a special adult in your life, but Jesus also wanted to be that special person for everybody! In this week's Gospel (John 10:27-30), He says people who love Him follow Him like sheep follow a shepherd, trusting that He's taking care of them.

Adults who are close to you will listen to your problems, help if they can and let you know that you are loved. That's exactly what Jesus did, too: He told us that God the Father trusted Him to watch over all people, and no one can take us away from Him.

He even promised to make sure we would be with God in heaven someday.

There's nothing better than to see an adult you really like and watch that person's face light up when they see you! Then you know it isn't just you being excited about time with your special person; that person likes you a lot, too.

Think about this: Jesus is happier to see you than any person ever could be, because He's really God, and God made you!

Whether you know other special adults or not, Jesus would be a pretty cool person to get closer to -- to follow, like a sheep with a shepherd.