“As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” – Psalm 18:30
It brought us to tears when Mayra, one of our Parent Life moms shared a photo of her one-year-old daughter “reading” the Bible we gave her for Christmas. And even though we know that she can’t yet understand all that is happening on the pages of that book, we trust it’s a seed planted, the beginning of a relationship with Jesus, and a lifelong hunger for more of God’s unfolding story.
Children’s Storybook Bibles were lovingly donated by a local family, Josh and Michele Ivans, in memory of their daughter Avelyn. At our Parent Life Christmas party in December, we read both the family’s story on the inside cover of the Bible telling of child lost, and the story in the middle of the Bible telling of a Savior born. Both stories resonated with the families as they read along. Timeshia, one of our Parent Life moms, wanted to thank the family who donated the Bibles. The other parents joined in and wrote notes of appreciation to the donors.
In January, middle school students in a local Christian school highlighted key verses in donated Gospel-tract Bibles. When our leaders brought them to the detention center, all the youth traded in their prior “standard issue” Bibles for the highlighted versions. We see a hunger for reading God’s Word and a desire to know where to start. We pray that the verses of hope and God’s love will also be a seed planted towards a relationship with Jesus.
Willie Johnson, a Juvenile Justice Ministry volunteer leader who spent time in prison, warned the youth to be careful reading the Bible. When asked why, he said, “Because it will change your life.”