For a child to flourish holistically, we must not only clear away the spiritual traps that might cause harm, but the very real physical dangers that lurk in the shadows. When we sit down to pray with a child for a better world, we had better be prepared to help create one. They hear our prayers, and they are watching to see what will come of them.

Ashes to ashes, childhood to childhood.

Remember, that “From dust you came, and to dust you shall return."

I wonder what questions you might find in the dirt?

I wonder what you might need to recover your humanness?

I wonder what it looks like for you to delight in the dust?

For the caregivers, the parents, the aunts and uncles, the nannies, the friends and godparents, grandparents and foster parents, and anyone who feels the weight of loving another human being.

Power and money trump (pun intended) children. The world is a dangerous place for a child when the highest authorities treat their bodies, hearts, and souls as expendable.

I believe with every fiber of my being that how we treat children right now matters more than almost anything else we can do.

Like other Evangelical kids, I was raised in a home that taught me the Bible. But I didn’t learn the way of Jesus from the loudest Christians in my life. I learned it from my mother. Her legacy has always been love, and that love formed my conscience. It motivates me to advocate for children just as fiercely as anything I survived in Evangelicalism, because I know in my bones that every child is deserving of love—my mom made sure of that. This is the standard, not the hope.

How children, wonder, and baptism led me into the priesthood, and why children deserve real pastoral care.

In a culture that dismisses and devalues children, Jesus’ blessing calls us to a sacred view of childhood and an urgent responsibility to protect them.

What if you could nurture your child’s faith from a place of love rather than fear?

What if their salvation was never on the line?

What if your child already knows God, and your work is simply to notice together?