As parents, we spend years celebrating milestones. First words. First steps. The first day of school. Learning to ride a bike. Losing a tooth. Birthdays marked by candles and photographs that somehow seem to come faster every year.
This week, my middle daughter reached a milestone that surpasses every one of them.
At Vacation Bible School, she made the decision to ask Jesus into her heart.
As a mother, I can tell you that moment is impossible to describe adequately. There are no words that fully capture what it feels like to watch your child make the MOST important decision of her life.
When she came forward, the teachers and pastor didn’t rush the moment. They took time to sit down with her, talk with her, pray with her, and make sure she understood what it meant to accept Christ as her Savior. They wanted to know that this wasn’t simply a child following a crowd or responding to emotion. They wanted to know that she understood the decision she was making.
And she did.
I think one of the greatest misconceptions about children is that they don’t understand faith deeply. Their understanding may be simpler than ours, but sometimes I wonder if that’s exactly what Jesus intended. Children don’t overcomplicate grace. They don’t spend years debating worthiness or wrestling with pride. They hear that Jesus loves them, that He died for them and that He wants a relationship with them – and they believe it.
The older I get, the more I realize faith often looks a lot like that. I mean, in Matthew 18:2 Jesus does say that we must “become as little children” in order to enter the kingdom of God, afterall!
This Sunday, she will be baptized.
I know there will be pictures. There will be family members watching. There will probably be tears (definitely from me!) Years from now, I may not remember every detail of what she wore or exactly all the words that were said, but I will remember the significance of what this day represents.
Baptism is an outward expression of an inward transformation. It doesn’t save her, but it is her public declaration that she belongs to Christ. It is a step of obedience and faith, and I couldn’t be more proud of her for taking it.
As mothers, we spend so much of our lives worrying about our children. We worry about their grades, their friendships, their choices, their futures. We pray over scraped knees and broken hearts. We ask God to protect them when they leave our homes and guide them when we’re no longer there to hold their hands.
But ultimately, the greatest thing we can ever hope for our children isn’t success, popularity, talent or achievement.
It’s Jesus!!!!!
Everything else in this world will eventually fade. Trophies collect dust. Accomplishments are forgotten. Trends come and go, but a relationship with Christ is eternal.
This week reminded me that while I have been entrusted with the privilege of raising her, she has always belonged to Him first and that’s what makes this milestone different from all the others. She will always be my daughter. Nothing will ever change that, but now, she is something else too. She is my sister in Christ and I can’t think of a greater blessing than that.
(Paige Gurgainers is a mom of three girls, digital journalist for Webster Parish Journal.)