How a Child Helped Me Understand the Savior’s Love for Me

By Nathan Kunkel

Because of my five-year-old niece, I now have greater confidence and see the Savior all around me each day.

The author lives in Utah, USA.

One New Year’s Eve, I was visiting the St. George Utah Temple Visitors’ Center with my sister, and her husband and children. In one of the rooms, they had Nativity scenes from all around the world. I was struck by the variance of each one—in size, color, materials used, different facial expressions, etc. It was powerful and reverent.

My five-year-old niece, Juliet, wanted me to carry her, so with her in my arms, we walked through the exhibit. In the quietness of the room, Juliet started repeatedly saying, “There’s Jesus! And there’s Jesus! And that’s Jesus! And that’s Jesus!” on a continuous loop with every Nativity we passed. Her tone was jubilant as she excitedly pointed to each infant Jesus. She wanted to get as close as possible to each one. I tried to ask her to be a little quieter, but to no avail—she was just too excited. She made me circle back to the beginning each time we got to the end of the exhibit, and we repeated this for about 20 minutes as she continued exclaiming, “And there’s Jesus! And there’s Jesus!” By the time we finally left that room, my back was sore and my arms heavy, but my heart felt lighter than it had in a long time. Her delight and assurance in seeing and knowing the Savior had left a mark on me.

I didn’t think much of this experience until I was sitting in church a few weeks later and the congregation sang “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” as the closing hymn (Hymns, no. 136). I’ve sung that particular hymn dozens of times in my life on autopilot, but this time was distinct. As I sang, “He lives to bless me with his love. He lives to plead for me above. He lives my hungry soul to feed. He lives to bless in time of need,” the words choked in my throat. I stopped singing and wept as I listened to the remaining verses. Every word felt very real and reassuring to me in that moment. I felt like the Savior was hugging me and I felt that I was not forgotten or scorned.

I used to think that my shortcomings sometimes made me made me less worthy of the Savior’s love. But witnessing the celebration of Jesus through the perspective of a five-year-old was something I needed to move past my own self-doubt and lean into trusting that He truly does love me, even with my imperfections. I needed to trust that He works with me in real time, every day, to better my life and turn weaknesses into strengths. Trust that He’s helping me fight my battles. Trust that I can break free of self-imposed shackles of bitterness, self-criticism, and regret, and whatever else plagues me with His help, and leave them at His feet—for good. Trust that this is a process, that we’re battling against human nature and the messiness of life, and that He is constant and patient throughout it all.

Juliet had no hesitation or doubt in seeing Jesus Christ and recognizing Him all around her—she just did. It came naturally to her and she knows He loves her. And her smile was more than enough evidence to me that she knows and loves Him. I’m starting to understand why the Savior commanded that we become like little children in order to enter into His kingdom. I want to be like Juliet.

Since those two experiences, I’ve made more of an effort to have greater confidence and see the Savior all around me. And I have! I see Him in the kind words and actions of strangers and friends, in the eyes of those I speak to, when the sun is shining and when I hear birds singing, I’ve started to feel less burdened and more hopeful. I’ve started saying in my mind’s eye, “There’s Jesus, there’s Jesus, and there’s Jesus.” I want to live my whole life that way. He is everywhere and we just have to choose to see Him, in the small things and big things. He is the greatest gift.