Day 9 – Calling

Tonight I had one of the my top 5 favorite spiritual teaching moments.  I taught my daughter that Jesus Christ is Lord.  As my daughter came running out of her bedroom crying to me, I asked her what was wrong.  Her response: I’m scared.  As we walked back in her room, hand in hand, I sat on her floor and she crawled up to me.  When I asked her what in her room scared her, she responded the monsters in her wall.  I asked her who was bigger than any monster, and she responded “God.”  I asked her if it would be alright if we could pray to God and ask Him to get rid of the monsters; so we prayed together and asked God to remove the monsters and to replace my daughter’s feelings of fears with a sense of His presence.  We asked God’s presence to fill the room.   Then we practiced verbally claiming “Jesus Christ is Lord” (she would repeat, word after word).  With each time we said it, we remembered that God was in her room and monsters cannot stay in the presence of God because Jesus Christ is Lord!

I don’t know how much of this my sweet 2 year old followed, but I know that she was finally able to go sleep with a smile on her face, and I was able to live out my calling to its core:  I taught that Jesus Christ is Lord, and our only hope is in Him.  I pray my baby clings to this truth for the rest of her:

¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11)

Lord, please enforce the truth of Your calling on our children and youth workers.  Remind them to the core what it is You have called them to do.  Please let them hold on to that in the moments that they are tempted to get caught up in so many other distractions: politics, administration, ambition, frustration, hopelessness, or even good intentions.   May You remind all of the ministry leaders in our Church Who You are and what You have called them to be.  Please forgive us for the moments we have lived to less than Your calling, and grant us the grace to fulfill the mission You have given us.  Thank You, Jesus.