"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:3, ESV

As a parent, my children have taught me many lessons. Both Abigail and Aiden have different personalities than mine, so I have grown in my own personality so that I can understand them better, communicate more effectively with them, and relate to them more personally. When Abigail was first placed in my arms after her birth, I remember looking at her and thinking how great God's love for us must be for him to be able to give the life of His only Son for us who do not deserve it at all. How many of us parents could give our child's life for someone who has seriously wronged us so that they could live? Amazing.

One of my greatest lessons as a parent has been faith. Jars of Clay have a song that I absolutely love called "Faith Like a Child". When my children were toddlers, what I said was true to them no matter how crazy it was. And really, all children are that way. It would take a lot of faith for someone to believe that there were such things as toy-making elves, but children believe because they trust and have faith in what their parents tell them. I want to be this way again. I want my heart to be open to believing without doubt the truth of the Gospel. I want to have childlike wonder when I hear what God has done and is continuing to do in His kingdom. I want to have Faith like a Child, and I want to be a parent who only speaks truth to her children so that my kids' faith will not be misplaced.