Faith Like A Child

by Sangita Seaburg

It was a cold January morning in 2009, my friend Valerie was delivering her third child, her first girl. This was a bittersweet moment for Valerie because her sweet baby, Bethany, had Trisomy 18. Though she knew she would only have a precious few minutes with her daughter, Valerie valued her life enough to carry her baby to term. That spring, Valerie spoke in front of our congregation at Virginia Beach Community Chapel. She reminded us how important life is and that we should be promoting life. My youth group girls, my daughter, Julia, and I joined Team Bethany and Walked for LIFE – we loved the cause.

On a cold January day in 2011, we learned how precious life is ourselves. My husband, who had been battling a non-aggressive form of bladder cancer for 20 years, was now dealing with a more aggressive version of this cancer. On March 1, I was informed we had anywhere from 1 week to 1 month to spend with my husband. Life is precious. On March 18, two weeks before the Walk for Life, my husband went home to be with our Lord.

We went to church the following Sunday and my daughter Julia saw the signs for the Walk. She really wanted to do it again. I told her two weeks was not enough time to raise money and we should just wait and go next year. Valerie offered to take Julia to the Walk at the Zoo. Julia was determined to do this. Julia saw levels of incentives and decided she liked the prizes. She set her goal at $500. Then she decided she really wanted a polo shirt and decided her new goal was $1,500. She raised a little over $1,700 in two weeks time. In Matthew Jesus says,

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3 NIV

Wow! The faith of my daughter was bigger than my faith. She didn’t put time limits on God like I did. She knows He has no limits. It’s been a year since my husband died and Julia continues her desire to support life and help babies. She raised $1,500 again for the 2012 Walk for Life.

Just recently we found out one of the youth at our church is pregnant. She told me she needed help with prenatal care for her baby. Julia, being the problem solver she is, asked me if she was going to go to CPC for help. Why didn’t I think of that?

If we all become like little children and value all God has told us is good, if we let God show us He has no limit, we can do so much more for the good of His Kingdom. Thank you, Julia, for teaching me such an awesome lesson.