Proverbs 22:6
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
I don’t think Emma knows this — at least not fully — but she is one of the biggest reasons my faith looks different today.
Not because she preached to me.
Not because she told me what to believe.
Not because she pushed me in any direction.
But simply because of the way she lives her life.
When she stepped onto GCU’s campus, something in her shifted. She grew — spiritually, emotionally, confidently — almost overnight. I watched her become steadier. More grounded. More sure of who she was and whose she was.
And while she was learning about God in her dorm, I was at home…
learning what quiet feels like all over again.
I didn’t grow up with a strong foundation of faith.
I didn’t have the stability she now has.
And for a long time, I didn’t think it mattered.
But watching her — truly watching her — I realized something that changed me:
My daughter had a relationship with God I had never experienced… but deeply wanted.
It wasn’t loud or dramatic.
It wasn’t perfect.
It wasn’t about rules.
It was simply real.
There is something powerful about seeing your child walk confidently in an area you feel unsure in.
It makes you curious.
It makes you humble.
It makes you hopeful.
Emma didn’t lead me back to God with words.
She led me back with her life.
Her perseverance through transfers.
Her strength through uncertainty.
Her joy — even in the hard seasons.
Her peace when things didn’t go as planned.
Those things weren’t accidents.
They were fingerprints.
God’s fingerprints.
And the more I watched, the more I felt that gentle tug on my own heart — the one I spent years ignoring, pushing aside, or telling myself wasn’t meant for me.
But God is patient.
Even when we aren’t.
Sometimes He uses sermons.
Sometimes He uses quiet moments.
And sometimes…
He uses our children to turn our hearts back toward Him.
Proverbs 22:6 suddenly made sense to me in a new way — not in the way I raised my child, but in the way my child raised my faith.
Today, my walk with God is different.
Not perfect.
Not polished.
But growing — slowly, honestly, beautifully.
And I owe part of that to a goalkeeper from Minnesota who listened to God long before I learned how.
Emma didn’t just chase her dreams.
She opened a door for mine.
She didn’t just go to GCU.
She helped lead me back to the One who had been waiting for me all along.
I don’t know if she’ll ever truly understand the impact she’s had on my faith journey…
but I do.
And I thank God for her — not just as my daughter,
but as one of the quiet ways He called me home.
💜 With love, faith, and a freshly quiet nest,
Kerri
When the Nest Emptied, God Showed Up
Sharing the journey God is writing in this new season.
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