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It's A Miracle!
By Tiffany on 12 March 2006 the wee hoursCategory: The Boys
We experienced a really big miracle last night. It’s a miracle that Andy and I and others had spent a lot of time praying about.
We put Caleb in the nursery for the first time at Fellowship Church. I know this doesn’t seem like a big deal, but for Caleb it was huge.
Caleb has spent all of life not liking church. As an infant we were paged every week to come get our screaming child. As a toddler he spent every Sunday morning begging and pleading not to go to church. He would say over and over, “No go to church”. Every Sunday when we picked him up he would have a red face and swollen eyes from crying so much while he was in the nursery.
It has been a big struggle for us as parents. He can’t get his way and not go, but it broke our hearts to leave him like that week after week. No matter what we tried…nothing worked. We really worried we were scarring him for life and that he would be a non-churchgoer as an adult.
Most people I talked to would blame his behavior on the fact that I’m a stay-at-home mom. Many church friends told me that he was too attached to me, but I knew that wasn’t the case. He has loved the gym nursery for years, stays with a friend on Fridays, and loves our babysitter. Church was the only place he had any problems.
When we decided to move for Andy to work at Fellowship we really hoped this would be a fresh start for all of us. We were tired of Caleb being known as the kid who was inconsolable, and we were tired of being known as the parents of the inconsolable kid every nursery worker dreaded.
We really built up church last night for Caleb. We went on and on about how this was our new church with fun new teachers, fun new toys, and fun new snacks. Caleb seemed OK with the idea of giving it a try. I was more nervous than he was.
As we sat in the service I had a really hard time concentrating. I just kept watching the display sign for his name. Brooke and Tyler needed their mommies, but Caleb’s name never appeared! After service we raced to his building (which looks more like something you’d see at Disney World than a church). We expected to see our red faced puffy eyed child.
Instead we saw a little boy bouncing up and down having a blast. It was a huge moment for all of us. The nursery workers said he loved it.
Caleb went on and on about it. He was in awe of the rows of little sinks and potties in the kid’s bathroom. He loved that the paper towel dispenser was on his level. He could do everything all by himself. He loved that mommy and daddy got a sticker that matched his (for security). He especially loved the warm baptismal fountain he splashed in on the way to the lemonade and bagel stand.
He bounced all the way to the car, and as parents we felt like this huge burden had been lifted. This was a small step for Caleb and a huge leap for the Knight family. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us!
Now start praying that our house will sell!
On another note…we are off to Sea World for a little family time before Andy starts at Fellowship on Thursday. Check back on Wednesday for new pictures!
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We are thrilled to hear such an awesome story! Thanks for sharing this.
Steven Dilla
— Steven Dilla Mar 13, 03:49 PM #FC Kids Preschool Director
Prayer works! We love Caleb!
— Karen Hill Mar 16, 12:59 PM #How incredible and what a huge praise! Thank you for sharing with everyone and for the encouragement you give as well. So many of the servants and teachers need to be reminded of how we can touch each child with God’s love and how lasting that can be! I’m so happy for your family – especially Caleb!
— Michelle Gallaway Mar 16, 07:32 PM #Steven: Thanks for creating such a nice, clean, secure, fun environment for kids. I hope next week is a repeat.
Karen: Were you in the room with Caleb? As we were walking out, Tiffany and I were bemoaning the fact that we could remember the teacher’s name. Are you there every week?
Michelle: Yes, what you do with kids makes a HUGE impact on families. Leaving your child you think the world of with strangers is not easy. Knowing he’s enjoying that time makes all the difference in the world.
— Andy Mar 16, 10:28 PM #