We’ve all experienced it. There is a moment when you see the lightbulb go off for someone. There is a new understanding that often shows on someone’s face as they contemplate their newfound clarity. This someone may even be yourself. It’s beautiful when the Holy Spirit lets us see these moments. When we see it in ourselves, it often comes with repentance and conviction, drawing us closer to the Lord. When we see it happen in others, we are motivated to keep sharing Gospel truth.

I love Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving at the beginning of Ephesians. In chapter 1, verses 16-19 Paul describes what I would call an ‘aha’ moment. He is asking God to give the Ephesians the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might.”

This is our prayer for the children in our churches. It’s our prayer for ourselves, our volunteers, our friends, our unbelieving neighbors. I’m reminded of Luke 24 when Jesus opens eyes to recognize him on the Emmaus road (Luke 24:31) and when he opened the mind of the disciples to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45). The Lord does the work, we are simply His vessels.

We are going to start off the new year with some encouraging stories of ‘Aha’ moments that children have been a part of. You’ll see that some of these moments are convicting and some of them are healing. Some of them are personal and some of them involve a large group. I pray the weekly blog posts to come are an encouragement to you.