Cheri Grows

Seeing your son or daughter choose to follow the Lord is a christian parent's greatest joy. Here's how to help your kids embrace their spiritual journeys.

One of the most memorable moments for Christian parents is their child's awakening to faith. What God wants, and what any clear-thinking Christian parent wants, is for children to come to the place where they "own" their relationship with God.

Some children take the long route on their journey of faith and make their commitment to the Lord in their teen-age years--or later. While this may be nerve-racking to the Christian parent, not every soul is on the hoped-for evangelical timetable of "accept the Lord in the preschool years, rededicate or get baptized in the teen-age years and serve the Lord for life thereafter."

Helping your child own a strong faith in Jesus Christ begins with you, the parent. You must embrace the journey each child is on and get comfortable with the fact that you are not in control of this process. If you do try to control it, you may be ensuring that your child gets to his destination the long way.