The other day, on the way home from church, Nate spoke up from his car seat.
“Daddy? Did God make us?”
Now, I was raised Unitarian Universalist, which is about as close as it can get to not actually being a religion at all, while still qualifying for tax-exempt status. I don’t really know all the answers, or how I feel about, say, the miracle of transubstantiation. God the Creator, though? That’s an easy one for me. Besides which, long before we got married, I had promised Sarah we would raise our child, or children, Catholic. I didn’t hesitate. “Yes, He did.”
“Did he make our car?”
Dave, yet another thing we have in common–both raised Unitarian! I actually got really into Unitarianism during and after college, and was even considering going into the ministry for a while (obviously, that plan changed). Right now, I’m feeling a bit estranged from the Unitarian Church, but that’s another story…
Gotta love those God questions. Back when I was an assistant teacher, it was always really awkward when my preschoolers and kindergarteners asked God questions or sex questions since you never knew what the parents would want you to say. Plus, I’m always in favor of straight answers to kids, but I knew parents didn’t always feel the same. Then there were the situations where I knew what the parents would say but didn’t agree…mmm…very tough. Usually, “Oh, look! A cookie!” was enough of a distraction to move smoothly past the moment.
LOL, don’t you love all the questions. How about, “God made the people that made this car. He gave them the skills to do it.”
That’s exactly what I said, actually. Then I tried to explain how God made us in his image, and since he likes to make things, we like to make things too. But I think I lost his attention about halfway through.