Conversations with a 3 year old

E: Mama, can we go to Heaven?

This was the question asked of me by my 3 year old on the way home from Sunday School today. It's her first time being in Sunday School and she LOVES every minute of it and apparently she's listening when they go to the chapel for song and story time. I pondered how to answer this for her as Heaven is somewhere that she should want to go, but is not somewhere that we can go right now. While I thought of how to answer her over our shared lunch of nuggets and fries she asked another question:

E: When can I meet God?

I tried to tell her that she sees God everyday. In the flowers by the side of the road, in the leaves that are now starting to change color, in the bright blue sky and the fluffy white clouds that are shaped by elephants. I tried to tell her where I see God; in her smile, in her brother's baby blue eyes, in watching them learn and grow every day. How do you give answers to a 3 year olds questions when you're not so sure you know the answer? How do you tell her that you don't know and she responds with "why?". How do you explain to a 3 year old who sees everything in matter-of-fact that you can't drive by Heaven just to see what's going on? Or that you can't schedule a meet and greet with God? I started to tell her that going to Heaven and meeting God are going to be direct reflections on how she lives her life. She sat and thought about this for a long time and then asked a question that I could answer:

E: When I go to Heaven will you be there?

Absolutely baby, absolutely.