Your Child Has a Testimony Too

            Everyone Christian has a testimony.  Some are more dramatic than others but God still uses the stories of his people to spread his word.

            As difficult as it may be for a parent, our children have testimonies as well and often times it is painful to watch them go through the trials of this life.  I remember when my oldest son’s friend lost his father to suicide the week of his prom.  I hated that for the friend and it was troubling to see my son deal with something so traumatic the week of what was supposed to be a joyous event. However, I knew this event would be a part of my son’s testimony as his eyes were opened to the fact that people make wrong choices.

            Now I am watching my youngest son suffer the consequence for making a poor choice in his life. As a parent it is difficult enough that he chose unwisely, but to watch him suffer because of the mistake is heart wrenching for a parent. I can’t fix it for him.  I can only advise him, pray for him and strongly suggest a different path. My hope is that this scenario will forever be engrained in his brain as a turning point in his life, part of his testimony, that leads to righteousness and light, not sin.

            I do believe in Proverbs 22:7: Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. However, I believe the key phrase in this proverb is: when they are old they will not turn from it. I know from experience. Although I became a Christian in high school and lived in truth through those late adolescent years, I turned from a daily walk with Christ in college and for seventeen years I did not put Christ at the center of my life, something I am not proud of. It was not until I was older and going through a trial, that I turned back to God.  After my rededication to my faith in the midst of that trial, I remained consistent in my devotion to the Lord.  Sometimes we have to realize how shaky the ground is below us without Christ as our foundation, before we will turn back to Christ.

            If you are a Christian parent and have trained up your child by living a Godly life in your home, you’ve kept your son or daughter in the church or taught them in Sunday school like I did, trust Proverbs 22:7.  Trust it even when your child goes off the path.  The foundation has been laid and when the ground below gets shaky and uneven, he or she will venture back to the only solid place to stand, on Jesus Christ, the solid rock.