by Martha Singleton

I’ve seen it time after time.

The Writer

The shy, awkward high school freshman sheepishly hands me her feature story and fidgets as I read over it.

“Wow. This is super! You know, you really are a good writer,” I tell her. “You could be a professional journalist, if you keep up doing work like this!”

“Really?” she asks. “Because I like to write. But I never knew if I was any good.”

“Well, you are,” I say. “You need to keep on writing, and keep a portfolio. There’s a free workshop this summer I want you to apply for.”

Flash forward 10 years, and here she comes, into my classroom, beautiful, confident, professional. She’s going to talk to my classes and tell them all about her job for the State Department, writing press releases in the White House Situation Room.

The Photographer

Or the kid with his camera, who only wants to take pictures of the cheerleaders.

“You have a really great eye for composition, and the ‘moment,’” I tell him. “You need to get serious, and take some photos that tell meaningful stories that matter. Your photos could have an impact, you know?”

“OK, I’ll try,” he says. “But I still want to shoot football games and pep rallies!”

Twenty-two years and two Emmy Awards later, I see him on the news, being interviewed himself for a change, because he was the first journalist on the scene at the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.

The Teacher

She eats her lunch in my room, and there’s always some different, random kid with her, getting help with math while they pick at whatever is on that lovely black plastic cafeteria tray.

“You are so good at explaining things in plain language,” I tell her as we gather up napkins and plastic bottles.

“I like it when people finally catch on,” she shrugs.

“You’d be an awesome teacher,” I say.

The school district newsletter last week announced that she will be coordinator of the math department at the middle school where she teaches.

 A Lesson from the Master

The wonderful thing about kids is that they believe us when we tell them that they are capable of greatness.

Jesus knew this.

He was always telling people who they were, even changing their names from ones with negative connotations to ones with positive meanings, like Simon to Peter, or Saul to Paul. The Old Testament, too, tells of numerous occasions when God changed a name to emphasize a person’s new, God-given identity.

As parents we tell our children who they are hundreds of times a day, and, because for good or for bad, they believe us, it is important for us to be sure that our message to them is one that agrees with God’s.

Our grandson is learning to bat off of a tee, and, with much coaching from his dad, grandpa, and uncle, has actually begun to get some good hits. The other day, he smacked one just as a neighbor jogged past.

“That’s a home run!” the neighbor called.

Without missing a beat, Josiah turned around and told him, “I’m Babe Ruth!”

Obviously, reading books about baseball, watching games on television, encouraging words from his family, and practice have combined to create one confident toddler.

I share this grandmotherly story to illustrate my point, not to predict that my grandson will be the next major league slugger. Encouragement matters. Words are powerful. We have opportunities to share eternal truths with our children from the earliest ages.

Phrases like “Jesus made you so special,” “It pleases God when you share,” or “Jesus has a wonderful plan for your life,” get into our children’s spirits and help them begin to know who they are in God’s eyes.

In our soon-to-be-released book, Let It Shine, we discuss specific ways we can help our children discover their own special gifts and abilities. Let’s explore with our children how God has gifted them and how He will use them during their childhood, through their teens, and into adulthood.

Helping our children find confidence in God, and in God in them, is one of the greatest gifts we can give our kids.

Martha and Greg Singleton have, for more than 30 years, met the challenges of balancing successful professional careers in journalism and marketing while raising a faith-filled family (a son, Matt, and a daughter, Annie). Together, they creatively share their experiences and insights on family life at conferences, seminars, workshops, churches of various denominations, schools, and businesses. They live in San Antonio, Texas.