In preparation for celebrating the birth of Jesus, I found myself reflecting on how I have witnessed the power of a child’s faith in the following ways:

To marvel at His creation: While standing at the bus stop a few days ago, my son Matthew and I saw two squirrels jumping from tree to tree. We see squirrels all the time, but had never seen two squirrels jump from one flimsy branch to another so boldly and repeatedly for 10 minutes straight. I said to Matthew, “Wasn’t that a nice little show that God gave us?” Little did we know that later that same day, we would witness at least eight dolphins putting on an even bigger show in the bayou across from our favorite sushi restaurant. We immediately ran outside to watch it. At one point, we jokingly wondered if some of the dolphins had escaped from Gulfarium (our local aquarium) – that’s how spectacular it was. But deep down, we knew it was really a blessing from God for the dozen or so people who happened to witness it.

To trust and obey: One day on our way home from church, Matthew asked us what tithing was. We explained it to him. Being a math wiz, he took a little time to calculate 10% of his allowance (per week and year), and promptly said, “I can do that” before we even made it home from our five-minute drive. Dave and I looked at each other – up to this point we still had not fully tithed. I said to Dave, “Well, you know what we have to start doing, too.” And so we did, that same day. As adults, it is easy to get in our own way. We tend to overthink things, clinging to any number of justifications, exceptions, and rationalizations (and here was a perfect example of what this looked like for us). However, since letting those go and choosing to trust that God will provide for our needs, my husband’s relationship with money has completely shifted from a scarcity to abundance mindset. And our family’s tithing story (led by Matthew’s example) inspired another couple to the same!

To grow closer to Him: There is nothing I love hearing more than a child who gets excited about God and learning more about Jesus. I love hearing stories of how a child looks forward to reading their Children’s Bible each day. I love hearing stories about how children get their parents to start going to church. I love hearing how heartfelt a child’s worship and prayer can be. As adults, it can be easy to keep God at a distance, whether it’s because we have doubts, are discouraged by the imperfect nature of church, are too busy, think we can manage life on our own, or think we know better. Yet the invitation to come to Him, return to Him, or grow closer to Him is always there. He wants to have a personal relationship with every single one of us. No exceptions. But he also gave us free will, so the choice to accept the invitation is one each of us has to make. I just love it when children give us the nudge we need. It reminds me of the following scripture where Jesus said to the disciples: “Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3, NIV).

Where have you seen a child’s faith have a positive impact on someone else’s life?