Your Life is Speaking

My mom deeply loves her family; she shows it in the way she lives every day. But even more than she loves her family, she loves Jesus. I can still picture her well-worn, burgundy Bible sitting open on her desk. She has always prioritized her time with the Lord and her involvement in our church.

Growing up, she always made sure we stopped to pray before meals. It wasn’t because we "had" to, but because she genuinely wanted to thank Jesus for His provision and invite us into the conversation she’d been having with Him all day long. My favorite prayer was always "Johnny Appleseed"—nice and fast! My mom was perfectly fine with making prayer fun with songs, but she never sang them just to get it over with. On the days she decided to use her own words instead of singing, I sometimes wondered if we would ever actually get to eat. Looking back, though, she modeled for us what it looks like to put Jesus first—even before hot food!

I remember coming home one day and finding her in the living room with worship music playing on the CD player, her hands raised in quiet praise. My family jokes that she was "worshiping the CD player," but that is a childhood image I will never forget. Her love for Jesus shaped—and continues to shape—how she lives. It’s not loud or for recognition; it is consistent and intentional.

When I was in school, I watched her pour her energy into starting a prayer ministry at the school—dedicating hours to a work that mostly happened behind the scenes. She made sure students, teachers, and families were covered in prayer and that their practical needs were met. I still remember how important it was to her that every single graduate received a personalized, handwritten letter from someone who had been faithfully praying for them throughout the year.

After my brothers and I finished school and she 'retired' from that role, she didn’t stop serving. She still spends hours coordinating behind the scenes so that children around the world—whom she will never meet—can come to know Jesus through shoebox gifts.

When I think about my mom, the words of Romans 2:11–12 come to mind:

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

Even now, as her mobility has become limited and she often uses a wheelchair, her posture hasn’t changed. She still asks, "How can I serve?" Often, that looks like sitting outside the church bathrooms during Kids Ministry—acting as a monitor so children stay safe and other volunteers can teach without interruption. She is committed to praying for the kids and volunteers, and she uses every moment in the hallway to make intentional connections with people.

My mom’s faith has shaped my life. I am so thankful to have attended SCA and grown up at SPAC and the amazing influence they've had in my life, but I truly believe the biggest contribution to my own faith was seeing my mom (and my dad, too) authentically love Jesus. Their faith lived out helped me believe that what I was taught at church and school was actually real.

So, if you have kids in your life, I want to encourage you: Your life is speaking.

•  -It speaks in the way you pray.
•  -It speaks in how you spend your time and your money.
•  -It speaks in the way you love Jesus when no one is watching.

It matters more than you think. You are shaping the hearts of the children in your life—not just by what you say, but by how you live. Your quiet faithfulness, your consistency, and your willingness to seek God in the middle of everyday life truly matter.