Parents often are concerned about how their children will turn out to be when they grow up. They have so much hope for them and sometimes they create an image of what they want their kids to be in the future. At the same time they also have fears of what could hinder their child’s growth and development.

In the gospel, people were asking one another about John the Baptist, “What will this child turn out to be?” But his parents knew that God had a plan for him because of the mysterious things that occurred before his birth.  So they put the life of their son in God’s hands. We all know that John would become the Precursor of the Messiah, that he would baptize Jesus in the Jordan River and do many great things. But what John did first before he embarked on his mission was to go to the desert and live there.

This great man chose to live a very hard life in preparation for his ministry of calling people to conversion. John took the narrow path and that is why aside from Jesus and Mary, he is the only other saint whose birth is celebrated by the Catholic Church.

So if you are still wondering what your child will turn out to be, you might consider letting him take the path of John the Baptist. Allow him/her to become a servant leader who might have to suffer much opposition for doing what is right in front of God. Of course we all want our kids to become rich and famous, but if they desire to serve people as their life’s work, by all means let them do so. Then we can proudly say that we are the parents of this boy or girl who made a difference in the world.