by Kacy O’Hare
This article was originally published in PCJH’s Fall 2024 Pinnacle, “Faith Like a Child”

This article is supposed to be about “watering the seeds of faith in our family,” but I first need to share how my first baby helped to water my own faith 32-years ago. We were living in LA and attending Brentwood Presbyterian Church. I had been asked to join another woman as joint elders for Children’s Ministry. I thought they were nuts! I had a brand new baby to take care of! How was I going to find the time? But as I looked down at my baby in his crib, I was awed at what a blessing from God he was, and I felt the Lord telling me that this was something I could and should do.

So, I became an elder and carted “Baby Jake” to many meetings and events at the church. As happy as I was to be a new mom, I was feeling a loss of identity after working as a prosecutor. But being involved with the Children’s Ministry team gave me a wonderful new purpose, and the women I worked with were wonderful role models for me. I was blessed to be a part of a beautiful group of people dedicated to sharing God’s love with the smallest members of the congregation.

When I look back on my active child raising years, I regret that I wasn’t a little more intentional about “watering the seeds of faith” in my two sons. We certainly attended church regularly together, thanked the Lord for our blessings before dinner, and said bedtime prayers in their younger years. However, I wish we had had more pointed discussions about faith and about the Bible, to encourage both them and me to think about what it means to believe in and love the Lord. But thankfully, where I was falling down on the job, I believe the Lord stepped in. But not just the Lord; also those through whom the Lord was working. So, although my sons are not regular church-goers, I feel that they have turned into extremely good, spiritual people who live out Christian values. And I can be hopeful and prayerful that someday, perhaps when they have children, their faith will deepen and they will find church homes. 

That old saying that “it takes a village” is true, especially if that village is a faith community. I am so thankful for the other people God was working through to impact their lives. At PCJH, both boys attended summer vacation Bible school where volunteers gave them experiences that have shaped their lives. At age seven, Patrick acted in his first church play, learning his lines and everyone else’s! Since then, it’s been all theater all the time, leading to a career as an attorney (plenty of acting there!). 

Jake got an opportunity to make a movie in his vacation Bible school that same summer, and now he is a documentary filmmaker. The Episcopal school they each attended for seven years provided both an academic study of religion, and daily chapel for worship and spirituality. The teachers there were excellent role models for them.

I’ve come to realize that it’s also important to check in with a child about what they are learning about Christianity from others, primarily to affirm the lesson, but also to spot something that may be “off.” In talking to Jake about this article, he shared that his second-grade Sunday school teacher was constantly talking about things that would get you sent to Hell! (We didn’t stay long at that church).

I am so happy that both boys feel a connectivity to God through nature, art and music. We have been so blessed to be able to share time with them here in God’s beautiful creation. I am thrilled to see how much they value inclusivity, family and friends. Both sons and their wives are poised to move to new cities and start new jobs and new adventures. I plan to get my watering can out and encourage them to look for a church community after they unpack!