Ever wondered what your children think about God? Last month in Seattle, Washington, an essay competition took place where middle and high school Second Generation wrote about their relationships with God. So many great essays were submitted that the judges ended up choosing two first places!

Josh Morrison, 11 years old, is currently in fifth grade and enjoys doing art, collecting legos and playing basketball. Amaris Morrison is 13 years old and is attending seventh grade. She enjoys singing, ballet, art and acting. This is Josh’s entry-Joni Choi

Heavenly Father isn't my Master or Lord, he's my friend. When I talk to him I don't say stuff like "I will obey you and do what you want me to do," because if I was God, that wouldn't be too comforting to me. So I say something like "Hi, how are you doing? Anything I can help you out with?" When I talk to him, I talk to him in my mind, because I know he's in my heart. And when I end talking with him, I don't act like I'm reading a script, but I say what's on my mind. I might say, "See you later," or "Bye, I have to go now." I talk to him the same way I talk to a friend, because he is my friend. God isn't always serious with me, he likes to have fun too. The better relationship I have with him the easier it is to talk to him. He's really helped me a lot.

In the beginning it wasn't so easy. I wasn't sure if God was there. I wasn't sure if I could talk to him. My mom said you could talk to him at any time. I thought that you had to pray to him, but I didn't know you could talk to him. Every night I would talk to him in my mind. At one point I was not sure who I was talking to. I was worried that I might talk to some spirit and not to God, so I made a password when I was talking to God. The password was "zigzag." Then I talked to him a lot and now we have developed a good relationship, and it's easy to find him anytime. I know if I look in my heart I can always find him, and that only God can be in my heart.

Another way that God speaks to me is he helps me make decisions. When I'm playing basketball he guides me around the court. Anyone can talk to him, whether or not they've been good, and he'll answer. Any time I talk to him, I think he's always waiting to be talked to, and he wants to talk to anyone, because he's always lonely in your heart. If you are not happy, he's not happy. When you're lonely, he's lonely, because he is in your heart. If you talk to him, it's better for you and it's better for God. At least, that is the way I think.

Like any parent, God wants you to know him and to know how much he loves you. Like when a parent raises a child, he doesn't want to rule his child's life and command him to become a duplicate of himself. A dad wants to make a difference in his son's life by loving and caring for him, and giving him all the advice and knowledge that he can. Parents dedicate their lives to their children and that is what God wants to do. Like any parent, I think God's goal is to raise me so that when I look back at my life, I think about how much effort he put into my life, how much he loves me and cared for me.

One time when God really helped me I was on the way back from a camping trip last summer and I got left by mistake far away from home. My dad stopped the car to visit the restroom and then he took a quick swim in a lake. Darrick and I were asleep in the back of the car, and I woke up while my dad was swimming and I went into the bathroom. He came back to the car and thought he saw both of us asleep and took off to drive the four hours back home. I came out of the restroom and the car was gone! I looked everywhere and they were nowhere. I was alone. I sat down and cried and cried.

I asked God, why did this happen to me? And what should I do? I looked in my mind for God to give me the answer. He told me to call home, but I did not know how, and I did not have a quarter. Eventually I went to find someone and asked for a quarter. I went to the phone and tried to remember all my parents had taught me about calling long distance. I tried all the numbers I knew but the recording said I needed $2.40. I tried to make a collect call but it didn't work. I gave up and tried to go to sleep on the grass, hoping when I woke up all would be better. God put me through a hard time, but then he helped me out. I woke up and decided I would try one more time to call, and I prayed for my dad to notice I was gone. I remembered 425 and then it worked. I got through to my mom when she was just walking out the door of our house. It took me a while to explain to her what had happened, but a wave of relief came over me just to talk to her. She asked me where I was and I had no idea.

Then God sent some people to help me. A van pulled up right where I was and a man talked to my mom and told her where I was. The man's whole family stayed with me and helped me, bought me a coke, and then my mom had the police come and pick me up. Just as I was leaving in a patrol car, my dad and Darrick came back to pick me up. For me this experience helped me to learn the difference between looking in my head and my heart. God gave me a test to see if I could handle this situation. When I listened to my heart, God was there and helped me through.

Now that I've developed a relationship with God, it has made my life a lot more special. Having a friend like God is wonderful because he's always there for you, loving you. Even when I'm by myself I know I'm never alone, because God is always in my heart.

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