Where Is Jesus?

Today at work, I did something small that ended up opening my heart in a bigger way than I expected. I wore my cross necklace.

It was simple. Just a cross. No image of Jesus. No crucifix. Just the symbol.

One of my students, a four year old sitting right next to me, noticed it. She pointed at my necklace and asked me, with complete sincerity:

“Where is Jesus?”

Before I could even respond, she reached out and touched the cross. She flipped it over, front to back, searching. Her little fingers moved with purpose, as if surely He must be there somewhere. She looked at me again, confused and persistent.

“Where is He?”

Where is Jesus?

I told her gently, “I’m sorry, I’m not wearing the necklace with Jesus on the cross.”

But her question stayed with me long after that moment passed.

Not just on a necklace.

Not just in a church.

Not just in the quiet moments when I manage to pray.

Where is Jesus in my everyday life?

Where is He in my stress?

In my exhaustion?

In my motherhood?

In my work, my worries, my waiting?

That little girl wasn’t satisfied with a symbol. She was looking for the Person. She wasn’t distracted by the cross itself. She wanted Jesus.

There was something holy in her persistence. Something childlike and pure. She expected Him to be there. And she wasn’t afraid to keep asking.

It made me wonder how often I settle for the appearance of faith without always seeking the living presence of Christ in my real, messy, ordinary days.

Am I looking for Him the way she did?

Not out of routine.

Not out of obligation.

But with expectation.

With trust.

With my whole heart.

Scripture tells us:

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

— Jeremiah 29:13

That little girl lived that verse in a way that no Bible study could have taught me in that moment. She searched with her whole heart. Turning the necklace over. Asking again. Believing that Jesus had to be there somewhere.

Maybe that is my invitation this Lent.

To stop rushing past His presence.

To stop settling for symbols alone.

To look for Him in the crumbs of my everyday life.

In the classroom.

In the car line.

In the hard conversations.

In the prayers that feel small.

In the moments when faith feels more like showing up than feeling holy.

Because we all need Jesus.

And He is not far.

Even when all I see at first is the cross, He is still there, waiting to be found by a heart willing to seek Him