Sacred Sundays: Heavenly Conversations

     I had the cutest conversation with Ava on the way to church this morning. We were listening to "church music" as the girls call it (a compilation of worship songs on CD that we often sing at church) in lieu of Big Bird (thank heavens for that!) and she picked up on some of the lyrics...

"Mommy, why are they saying Lord?"

"Well, honey, it's another name for God...There are a lot of names people use to refer to God. Like sometimes we say 'Heavenly Father'"

"Oh, yeah, like when we pray at night...'Dear Heavenly Father?" 

"That's right sweetie, during our prayers at night, and at dinner. There are a lot of different names you might hear at church and that people use to refer to God."

"Oh. O.k."  

End of story...for now anyway. 

I love that she is picking up on these things. I love that she is asking questions. I love that we are having conversations, as simple as they may be. 

It makes me realize the responsibility that we have as parents; to be role models, to offer answers, to be talking about God, to be surrounding our children with enough Godly input that they start to formulate questions and answers and a Godly worldview. 

It reminds me of a verse in Proverbs...

"Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it." (22:6)

I know this has been true for my own life. For as many "detours" as I've taken away from my faith, as many rebellious rabbit holes as I've wandered down, I've always come back...every single time...back to my knowledge and my faith that there is no firmer foundation than the one I have in Christ. It's the only thing that has always centered me. 

And now I'm working letting it center my parenting...

It's a big call...but a good one. Sometimes the answers are not always clear...but inevitably they are always there. 

Happy Sunday.