Turning 16 is hard … on me

My oldest child turns 16 today. I’m so proud of her and what she has done so far in her life. She’s a child of God and has a sweet, pleasant disposition. I really couldn’t ask for more in a daughter. My son, who’s not far behind her in age, is also more than I could have hoped for in so many ways. I look at where they are spiritually at their age and think about myself at that age … and it doesn’t compare.

Aside from knowing that time moves fast, and that she will be gone from home before I know it, there is another issue. She will be getting her driver’s license next month and she will be taking trips from our home on her own. My, how that scares me. And it also makes me think about our relationship with God.

God created us in His own image (Genesis 1:26), and He deeply wants us to obey Him (James 4:5). I can’t imagine that God’s feelings of yearning and desire for what is best for us is greater than mine for my children — but I know it is. He has animated the souls of billions of people, only to watch them drift away from Him. He’s seen billions of them die in their sins, and He sees billions of them each day live without any regard for pleasing Him. Every day, millions of them die, but His longsuffering grace and compassion lives on, hoping that they will safely return “home” to Him through the blood of His Son.

I’ll continue to worry about my daughter, and in a few years, my son also. But my depths of concern are only a fraction of what my Heavenly Father endures. Help me, God, to put my trust in you for my children’s well-being, and help me especially to be motivated to teach Christ’s gospel so that you can be pleased too.

Kyle Campbell