A Childhood To Remember

Below is a picture of my now-deceased Uncle Wesley and my siblings. I don’t remember the exact date, but I remember the place. It was the gas station across from the church where I preached my initial sermon—the same place where I first attended prayer and Bible study services. It was there that I began to understand that God held a deeper meaning than exterior experiences could ever express.

While this generation is more technologically advanced—and possibly smarter than we were in many ways—they are still children with basic spiritual, mental, and emotional needs for guidance, context, and affirmation. The enemy will attempt to disrupt that connection—don’t give him any room to do so.

As children, God can plant something in them that adulthood often struggles to receive. From languages to leadership, the Holy Spirit can work wonders during early formation.

I’m getting older now, and I find myself remembering the things I heard and saw as a child. I also remember the fight that surrounded those moments. Yet, there is a kind of victory in the ability to simply remember.

The apostle Paul told Timothy, “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.” (2 Timothy 1:6, KJV) This wasn’t just nostalgia—it was a divine strategy. Paul understood that memory activates faith, and faith activates purpose. He reminded Timothy that the gifts of God were not just for function, but for flame—stirred, not stored.

In the same letter, Paul affirms Timothy’s spiritual roots:
“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures…” (2 Timothy 3:14–15, KJV).

This scripture proves that impartation is not merely momentary; it is generational. The seeds of truth planted in childhood become anchors in adulthood.

As Dr. Howard Thurman once said:

“The true purpose of education is to teach students to deal with their own uniqueness and the uniqueness of others in the world.”

We must give children something to remember—truth that outlives us, love that outlasts confusion, and the Word that withstands the test of time.

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” —Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)