Who's YOUR hero?!

Have you ever had a moment where you're in awe of your kids? I recently had one of those moments with Payge. I guess I should start by saying that oftentimes I feel completely under qualified as a parent, and I truly mean that. It's such a daunting task sometimes, especially in the "spiritual raising" of children. I know that God has called me to teach my children His ways, as it says in Proverbs 22:6: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." I've known this scripture for many years, but if you really think about what that means, well, it's a tall order. I want my children to be more than me, to know more than me, but how do you teach that when you don't know what you don't know and you can't be what you're not?



I pray for my children daily, and it usually goes like this: "God, give them the wisdom of Solomon. Open their minds to knowledge. Lord, I pray prosperity over them, prosperity in wealth, prosperity in relationships, prosperity in friendships, prosperity in wisdom, prosperity in understanding. I pray for them to be like Jonathan was to David, and I pray that they have a Jonathan to depend on. I pray protection of their minds, I pray protection over them physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually." Just a tidbit, but you get the idea. I tell them everyday when I drop them off to remember that God is with them, and if they run into trouble they should ask Him what to do. I tell them to help their friends, and if their friends are unkind I tell them to show their friends Christ through how they respond.



But in all my prayers I forget one thing, one very, very important thing. "Lord, I pray that they will witness to anyone, any chance they get."



How could I forget that? It was, after all, Christ's last words to his disciples. It is, after all, the Great Commission. We are, after all, supposed to do this every day, every chance we get. How does that go unnoticed?



But God gives me hope, above all. Which brings me to the point of this story.



When the girls come home with their dad in the afternoons I commence the questioning: "How was school today? Anything exciting happen? How much homework do you have?" Usually it's pretty typical stuff, but one day last week Payge surprised me. She told me that they have a project to do that kind of let's everybody know who you are to the rest of the class. It's a big piece of paper with questions they are to answer, like "What's your favorite subject?" "What pets do you own?" That kind of stuff. One question is "Who is your hero? Tell us in a paragraph" Payge's teacher went around the room and asked each student who their hero is. When he got to Payge he said, "Payge, who is your hero?" And with absolutely no hesitation she replied, "Jesus is my hero." She said his eyes got really big and he said, "Good answer Payge!"



I couldn't believe her answer. No Hillary Duff? No Gabriella Montez from High School Musical?



My heart raced. She really said that in front of the class?! I have to admit that when I was her age I would not have had the courage to say it, never mind the fact that Jesus probably wouldn't have even entered my mind.



This weekend she wrote her paragraph to back up the statement. She astonished me even more. "Mommy, I need my Bible so I can look up scripture." WHHAAATTT? Yeah, she put scripture in. John 3:16 to be exact. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Her paragraph ended with "Spread the word to everyone."



This really convicted me in how I live my life. Typically I stand on the famous words of Saint Francis of Assisi, "Preach the gospel on a daily basis, and if necessary use words." I have to say that for the most part I do not use words, but I can tell you that thanks to my ten year old, I'm going to start. So, who's YOUR hero? Today, mine is JESUS. And Payge.