When my oldest son was in 1st grade, we decided to let him watch Star Wars Episode 4 (the first one with Luke Skywalker). It was a big deal. Before that we thought he was too young and not ready for it. Up to that point the majority of his video viewing was Blue’s Clues and Thomas the Tank Engine, so this was a big jump. One night when his 3-year-old brother was at Grandmom’s and his 1-year-old brother was in bed, we popped some popcorn and introduced him to a “Galaxy Far, Far Away”.

As he fell in love with Star Wars, it became impossible to shield the younger two from it. So although our oldest waited until he was 7 to watch it, our youngest was watching it before he was even 2! It’s so hard to stick to your guns some times. But for the most part, as parents of young children, we get to be their filter. We decide what they watch, what they wear, what they eat, who they play with, what they are allowed to play with. Well, like I said, for the most part. But as they grow, we begin to lose that control.

As a mom of school age children, I can control what they are allowed to watch on TV when they are home. But when they are at friends’ homes without me, I’m not there to say, “Turn the channel,” or “Turn that off.” I’m not on the play ground at recess to say, “You can’t play that game where you’re pretending to kill each other.” I’m not in the cafeteria at lunch to say, “No you can’t buy ice cream today.” I can talk to my children at home about the choices they are making without me, but I am not with them to make the choices for them.

And sometimes that can scare me.

Not so much for now, but for when they’re older. I won’t be in the classroom when they are tempted to cheat. I won’t be in the store when they are tempted to steal. I won’t be at the movies when they are hanging out with friends and are tempted to be disrespectful to adults. I won’t be at the party when someone offers them the opportunity to drink or do drugs. I won’t be on the date when they are alone with a girl and they are tempted to “display their affections” physically. I won’t be with them when they are on a computer, or tablet, or iPod, or phone and tempted to view something pornographic.

I won’t be there.

But I pray that our (my husband’s and my) words will. I pray that the foundation we are setting with our boys will hold firm in their hearts, and that the lessons we’ve taught them will ring in their ears when they are faced with temptation. I pray that they will be so rooted in our love that they will choose to do what is right. And when they don’t, I also pray that they will know that our love surpasses any wrong choice they will ever make. But more importantly, I pray that they will be rooted in Jesus.

Because I won’t be there, but Jesus will always be with them.

And so my deepest prayer is that my boys will decide to trust Jesus as their savior and to follow hard after Him. That when they are tempted to cheat, steal, be disrespectful, drink, do drugs, be sexual, or view things that are inappropriate, they will hear Jesus speaking truth into their hearts and through his power they will choose to do what is right.

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the creator of everything in heaven and on earth.

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his spirit.

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

And you may have the power to understand, as all God’s people should,

how wide,

how long,

how high,

and how deep his love is.

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (Ephesians 3: 14-19)

So of course, you can imagine the joy I felt seeing my oldest son, at 11 years old, choose to be baptized yesterday. He stood before our church and said that his desire is to follow Jesus. His father baptized him and his grandfather prayed for him, and I did what every mother would do, I cried. And so I pray just as Paul prayed for the Ephesians that God would empower my son, grow his roots deep into God’s love and keep my son strong as he walks through his teen years. I pray that my son will spend each day knowing how wide, long, high and deep God’s love is for him.