I don’t even know how many stories I must have told the girls about God coming to my rescue. He is our great provider, both physically and emotionally. Emmanuel is with us, working for our good, even in dreadful or perilous situations. Trusting God is something important we need to teach our children.

My younger daughter Leanne learned this in Sunday school and other formal settings, but she learned it best seeing scripture become reality in her life. Her first memorable lesson took place in the fifth grade.

As I turned out Leanne’s light one unsuspecting night, she burst out crying. Actually she was sobbing.

Applying what is around us every day to spiritual truth is another great way to testify.

One Saturday afternoon when I has taking the girls to meet friends at the mall, they told me a story that affected me so much that I pulled the car over to the side of the road and cried. An analogy was about to explode from my heart onto my stunned daughters.

Another way we can testify is telling our children about the times God has heard us. We have done this over and over in our family, for He has heard us often.

One story we talk about took place when Stacey was not even two and her sister was only a few months old.

Stacey had been throwing up for days because of a stomach virus, and she developed a twist and block between her bowels. It could have killed her if her dad, home on Saturday, hadn’t noticed the slight swelling in her stomach and if she hadn’t had a very astute and observant pediatrician.

I wish I could remember the exact statistic and where I heard it or read it. I have no trouble whatsoever accepting what I recall, though, because of what so many people have told me around the country.

I believe it is true that fewer than 10 percent of us “testify” to our children. I think we assume they know what is in our hearts. But too often, they really do not know what we’ve experienced with God and how we feel about him. Somehow, and perhaps my personality had something to do with it, I thought to tell our daughters quite a bit. I’m so glad.

Each of my daughters on separate occasions during their high school years called me into their rooms to tell me something they knew would mean so much to me. They said they would tell their children what they had come to know about the Lord and how much they love him. They believe so many young people leave the church because they don’t see well enough the relevancy and beauty of Jesus and God’s written word. Our testimony can make a difference.