We Can All Be Winners

By:  Donna Martin

When our daughter, Kacie, and her husband, Austin were expecting their first child, Kacie read a lot of parenting books child development books. 

One of those books was called, Brain Rules.  It sounded very interesting, so I decided to read it too. I don’t really remember much of what it said, but one thing in particular stood out to me.

It was a story about a man who heard a song one day.  The song brought back a wonderful feeling even though he didn’t really know the song.  He did a little research and found out that his grandmother had often played that song when he was at her house.  After many years that song still brought back sweet memories.

Our, grandson, Michael, was born in January of 2018, and in April of that year Kacie’s maternity leave came to an end.  Mike and I were so fortunate that we were able to keep Michael every weekday from April until May when Kacie’s school year ended.

Every day when it was nap time, I would bounce Michael on the exercise ball (Kacie had bounced on the ball before he was born, and she thought that doing that calmed him down.)  Anyway, most day’s I bounced some days I rocked him.  Remembering the story about the man and the song, I decided that I wanted Michael to be exposed to some of the old hymns, so every day I sang “Victory in Jesus” along with a repertoire of other songs, while I rocked him to sleep. Victory in Jesus was one of the songs I sang to him every day from April to the end of May when he was only a 3-4 month old baby.

In the fall of that year when Kacie went back to work, Michael went to daycare, so we only kept him occasionally, but when we did, if it was naptime or bedtime, I sang “Victory in Jesus.”

This spring at the beginning of May 2020, during the pandemic, Kacie and 2 year old Michael came and stayed with us every morning because her husband, Austin, was working from home and Michael had a hard time being quiet.  They ate lunch with us and then went home so Michael could take his nap.  Since he went home after lunch he was not at our house for naptime, so I think the last time I sang “Victory in Jesus” to him was at Thanksgiving last November when he spent the night with us.  I may have sung it at the end of June.

At the end of the summer, I was preparing lunch and our little 2-year old Michael was sitting at the kitchen table.  Suddenly my ears perked up when I heard him singing. 

“Michael,” I said, “Were you singing ‘Victory in Jesus’?”

He smiled really big and said, “Yes, Nana!”

I stopped what I was doing and went to sit by him at the table and helped him remember the song.  Now that was really a wonderful surprise, but it gets better.

In September Michael started back to preschool and we had not kept him in for two weeks. Then a couple of weeks after he started back to preschool we received a text from Kacie with a note from Michael’s preschool teacher.

It said,

“I was in Michael's room this morning and as they sat coloring, Michael started singing and I quickly recognized the song as the old hymn, 'Victory in Jesus'! We sang together and I shared with him and his tablemates that Jesus loves them so much and with Him we can be winners!”

Well, this Nana and Poppy had tears in our eyes.

This song tells the story of Jesus’ love for us, which was another reason that I chose it to sing to Michael as we rocked. I sang it with the hope that the truth of the love, sacrifice and redemption of Jesus would be planted in his mind.   One day if he ever needs reassurance that Jesus loves him, I pray that “Victory in Jesus” will come into his thoughts.

Jesus came to earth, loved us, suffered for us, gave his life for us, and rose from the dead, so if we repent and turn from our sins, we can have Victory in Jesus and like little Michael’s teacher told him and his friends, with Jesus we can all be winners.

I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory
How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me
I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood's atoning
Then I repented of my sins and won the victory

Oh victory in Jesus, my Savior forever
He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood
He loved me 'ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him
He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood