You will probably always be able to find me on the roster of my local church nursery. And it is not because of guilt, servanthood, humility, or the inability to say no. It is quite simply because of: ambition.

I realize I will need to make that make sense. OK, let me tell you a story.

I am the oldest of eight, and as such, I had a lot of responsibilities growing up. Suffice it to say that, long before I birthed my own children, I had changed countless diapers and been up with infants through the night. There was a lot that just fell to me as the eldest. And I resented it.

One day, I had enough. It was not my turn to change this diaper, and I insisted that a younger sibling in the birth order take a turn. They did. I don’t know if it was a strategy for getting out of it in the future, or just lack of skill, but I will spare you the details of that diapering attempt and its consequences. The net result was that moving forward, I decided that it was just better to do it myself.

But that did nothing for my resentment or feeling of entrapment.

And into that trapped place, on another day, with another diaper that I did not want to change, the Holy Spirit brought a word to me:

“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me, but the One who sent Me.” (Mark 9:37)

Something significant shifted inside of me. Jesus turned everything on its head by elevating the task that trapped me. And it’s not that changing diapers became fun. It’s not fun. But the reality hit me: tending to the needs of a small human… Jesus pretty much puts that in the category of hosting God. You can’t get more prestigious than that.

Don’t get me wrong: my time serving children is not some blissful experience. I still count down the minutes till the service is over. More Sundays than not. If it were just a matter of desire, I would choose scrolling social media over doing a 12 piece puzzle with a toddler, ten times out of ten.

When I choose something different it is in part because I am convinced that Jesus was being absolutely serious. It’s almost a spiritual discipline for me. It requires a certain emptying of yourself to leave the world of adult thoughts and interests to enter into the world of a child. And I do it very imperfectly. In a lot of ways it parallels my distractedness in prayer: forever bringing my wandering distracted mind back to the Person at hand. It’s so much easier to stay in my mental world than venture into the world of someone who is so much smaller or infinitely vaster than me.

So if you want to aim for some mid-level position in the Kingdom of God like Committee Chair, have at it. Meanwhile, you can find me in the nursery. I hope it’s clear I’m being playful in poking fun. Not everyone can or should work in children’s ministry. I acknowledge and respect that. It is also OK to take breaks from even the best of things. If you do not currently serve in a church nursery, absolutely no judgment. I just think I have a pretty good gig going on and I don’t want others to miss out.