Liz and Jon Olivier recently found out they were expecting after eighteen months of trying to start a family. We asked her for a one-sentence quote about serving in kids ministry for the family service a few weeks ago, and she gave us an unprompted and beautiful essay! Here, we share her story in her own words of God’s faithfulness in starting her own family and the passion she’s had serving kids in other people’s families in graceKIDS for the past few years:
“Even before we knew we were going to be parents, I felt strongly about working with kids. I feel like I’ve learned so much from the kids, too. I feel like I’ve seen an honesty in worship and in the belief that Jesus is our Savior and that I can trust Him no matter what, with a conviction that I forgot we once had when we were children. I feel like it’s been the biggest blessing for me — to be able to sing & praise God uninhibited in graceKIDS. And serving puts me in a position where I’m praying over the Bible story that kids will hear that week and constantly leaning on God for the words that He wants me to share with them.
“I’ve always felt like once kids are sent off to school, their parents are no longer the biggest influence in their kids’ lives. I feel like it’s that time, that’s more important than any, to surround our kids with the best & most positive influences that we can. That’s why I serve with elementary kids, and it’s what made me know that when I had kids of my own, the biggest thing I wanted them to learn from me was serving others & not just ourselves.
“But it began to seem like it was taking us longer than it was taking a lot of other people we knew to start a family. To be really honest, it became very discouraging. I know other people have had to struggle for longer than we did, but in putting it to prayer, we both began to ask whether or not having children was God’s plan for us. We discussed adoption, and we waited.
“In May 2011, God blessed us with the news that we were expecting. I don’t think it’s a coincidence for us that we were finally asking God which way He wanted us to start our family, and He answered it loud and clear. We are so excited and grateful.
“No one can see God, but I feel like I’ve seen a piece of Him in our story, and I feel like I’ve seen a piece of Him when I see kids that are having a BLAST during worship, when a story actually hits home and has meaning for them, when they make the decision on their own to be baptized.
“Kids have a million different influences. Hopefully I can just be one of the positive ones.”
