The faith of my children

I must admit that when I was pregnant with Allyssa I prayed that she would not have attached toes. I know it is silly. I figured that as a girl she'd want to wear flip flops and sandals at some point and that she might feel self-conscious about it. (I should have just figured I could ship her off to her aunt Sarah's house because she is quite proud of her feet.) Regardless, Allyssa does not have attached toes.

I prayed for David, Jr.'s spouse a lot when I was pregnant with him and when I nursed him. Of course he is too young to be married, but that was what I prayed about when he was very young.

I haven't prayed a lot for this baby during this pregnancy except that she be born late enough and healthy enough to not have a NICU stay.

It is interesting to me what I prayed for with each child.

From an early age, we pray in front of our children. We pray for food, health, emergency vehicles and those who drive them and those who they will go to, we pray for sleep and good naps, we pray for safe travel, and many other things.

And we talk, a lot, about who Jesus is and what he did for us. Allyssa has been able to verbalize who Jesus is for a long time. I wish I could remember when she first did, but I can't. I've tried to get David to talk about it, but he generally changes the subject to trucks or Old McDonald every time I talk to him.

I asked Allyssa the other day, "Why will you go to heaven when you die?" She answered me, "Jesus died on the cross. He died for me. He died for you, too." I love that she not only pinned the credit all on Jesus, but she also shared Christ with me. She went on to tell me that Jesus forgives us of our sins, both my sins and her sins. What a powerful message from such a small child!

As my kids grow, I pray that the faith that they hear about grows and grows, that they always know that Christ died for them, that they never wonder if they've done enough, but that they hold tight to the truth that when they were sinners, Christ died for them. (Romans 5:8)

Some of my prayers might be silly, like praying for Allyssa's toes. Some of my prayers might seem silly, like praying for a future spouse of a kid who isn't even born. Tonight though, I pray for their faith.

From 31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for You Kids:
"I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children's hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them." (Luke 17:5-6, Hebrews 11:1-40)

And I'll rest assured that what has been promised to them is far greater than money, fame, fortune, health, or even separated toes, for none of that truly matters. If God chooses not to bless them with any of these things, I praise him for giving them a gift of greater importance, eternal life in his son, Jesus.