As a mom of toddler twins I do a lot of diaper changes. I bet many of you are in similar states of life. Whether you have one child, several young children close in age, or multiples, you can relate. Lately we’ve had some “issues” going around (digestive issues, teething, I’m still not sure) which generally means a few more frequent (and messy) diaper changes. So I’ve been spending a bit more time at the changing table than normal.

I’ve never really given much thought to changing diapers. It’s just something that needs to be done. I’m the oldest of four and my mother babysat in our house while I was growing up. I kind of grew up changing diapers. I don’t remember learning how to, I just remember helping out in that department whenever needed.

Recently I was changing yet another diaper for one of my children and I thought about what a privilege it is to change my two sons’ diapers.

Yep, you heard me right. A privilege.

There are a lot of things we do for our children. Some of those things last a short time, others much longer. But at some point, our children will leave the nest and move off into the world. They will no longer need us in the same way as they did as dependent infants or needy toddlers or awkward teenagers. They will always need us in some way, but there are many material or physical things we do for them in their early years that last only a short time.

Right now I am changing diapers, among many other things. Soon we’ll be into potty training and eventually they won’t need me at all in this area.

And yet, there I stood that day, changing a mess of a diaper and wondering what this little person would be one day. Many things went through my head, until my thoughts turned to the possibility that my little boy could potentially be a priest one day. I lingered over the idea as I pulled out yet another wipe while simultaneously trying to keep little feet out of the mess sitting close by.

Priest or some other career, whatever my children decide to do I’ll be proud of them as long as they are following God’s will and they work hard at whatever that is. But to have your child be a priest! What an honor, what a privilege!!

Yes, it is certainly a privilege. These are small but necessary (and sometimes unpleasant) tasks. As parents we are providing for our children’s physical, material, and spiritual needs. We nurture their bodies, minds, and souls. We all hope that our efforts will prepare our children for the world around them in whatever their vocation is.

My mind was blown away at the thought that this little, vulnerable person, whose diaper I was in the process of changing, could one day be called to the priesthood. What a thought!! And to think I once changed his diapers!

God has given us parents a gift in all these little tasks we do for our children. I can’t even imagine what the years ahead will be like, but the thought of my child as an adult is way beyond anything I can imagine. To think of him as one of God’s earthly servants, leading His people to greater relationship with Him, was mind blowing. Especially given the task I was doing.

I will probably never look at diaper changes the same again!