If you read my weekly column you’ll remember last week I wrote about feeling stuck in the waiting while trying to figure out Gods purpose for me here on earth. I have a friend I made while my husband was stationed in North Carolina, her name is Kendall. She and I have kids both close in age and we began our faith walk at Reclamation Church (Spring Lake, N.C.) together back in 2022. We quickly became good friends, she is one of those friends I felt like i’d known forever the instant we hung out. Her and her family have been one of the biggest blessings in my family’s lives. Spiritually she and I always seem to be on the same page and that in itself has been a blessing, It’s so refreshing to have someone I can speak to that also understands the multitude of feelings that come with trying to find figure out my divine purpose here.
Recently, most days it feels as if the only thing I can think about is my God-given purpose on this earth. Is it to excel in a career? To serve in my community? To lead in a grand way? Yet, with every passing day, a quiet but unwavering conviction grows in my heart, I believe that my divine calling may be found in the sacred work of preparing and equipping my children in their faith.
Parenthood is a divine appointment, a sacred stewardship. Our children are not merely our offspring but souls entrusted to us by God. We are not only tasked with providing for their physical needs but also with nourishing their spirits, shaping their character, and grounding them in truth. In an age where society is flooded with conflicting values and faith is often challenged, the home becomes the first sanctuary, the first classroom and the first church.
Equipping our children in faith is not just about teaching them Bible stories or encouraging them to pray, it is about modeling a life of integrity, compassion, and unwavering trust in God. It is about having honest conversations, answering their doubts and being unafraid to admit when we do not have all the answers but know the One who does. It is about showing them that faith is not a rigid set of rules but a relationship with a loving Creator.
My son Tanner has always had this glow about him. A gentle, yet leading spirit you don’t see in most six year old rough and tumble boys. This past Monday I kept him home from school because he wasn’t feeling good and his sister had been sick the week prior. Later Monday night he asked for me to lay hands and pray over him, then he prayed for Jesus to heal him so when he woke up he felt all better. He knows we serve a powerful God who has and still preforms miracles and heals. I’m not sure why I had any doubts in my mind about him waking up better, but I had made plans to call out of work assuming he’d still be sick. However, when he woke up a little past six Tuesday morning, he came out to the living room and told me he felt all better. I was over the moon and said how cool was it we serve a God who can still heal. Then he threw me for a bit of a loop, he told me before Jesus left, He felt him hold his hands and Jesus told him when he woke up he’d feel better, then Jesus hugged him and when he woke up, all was well. I bawled my eyes out and Tanner asked me if I’ve ever had that happen before. I explained I’ve never physically felt Jesus hold my hands or hug me but I do get a tingly feeling sometimes when I’m deep in prayer or worship and I know he’s there.
Some may see this purpose of ministering and pouring into your children as small, a quiet and hidden calling compared to grand public achievements. But there is nothing small about planting seeds of faith in the hearts of the next generation. Our greatest legacy may not be the accolades we achieve but the faith we instill in our children. Faith that will guide them when we are no longer there, faith that will impact future generations.
So, to the parent who wonders if they are making a difference, who doubts their significance in the grand scheme of things, remember this: There is no higher calling than to raise a child who knows, loves, and walks with God. In the simplicity of bedtime prayers, in the whispered words of encouragement and in the patient teaching of God’s Word, you are fulfilling a divine purpose.
May we never underestimate the holy work of parenting, for in raising children of faith, we do not merely change their lives, we change the world.