This morning, we lit the first candle of Advent, read our daily verse, and talked about the season of Hope and what that means to us. What I didn’t expect was a bunch of questions about why we no longer go to church and reminders that I said I’d be looking for a new church.
“We celebrate Advent, but we don’t go to church.” (Naomi)
“Well, Advent isn’t about going to church. It’s about celebrating the birth of Jesus.” (+1 for mom!)
“Oh. Ok. But you said you were looking for a church.” (Dammit, Naomi)
“Sometimes it takes Moms a long time to find a church.” (In your face, Kid)
My last statement worked for a few minutes while we talked about Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (the people, not the expletive) and then the girls went back to something about the Light of the World, why people go to church, and what Christmas is about. I was actually pretty impressed with their knowledge since, apparently, I am not overly religious and, even though I told them I’d be looking for a new church almost five months ago, we still enjoy sleeping in every Sunday. Also, I have yet to start reading their bibles with them every night. Or, ANY night, for that matter. I mean, I did it for a few nights back in July. Does that count?
They have a rough understanding of what the Real Deal is, though (despite my slackage as a parent).To them, Christmas is about Hope, giving, light, Life, and joy. I am working with them on what it means to be grateful—which I find easiest to teach by going through their bedroom with gigantic trash bags and getting rid of their favorite toys—and the importance of Family. Man oh man- the Family deal is blurry and totally convoluted right now, but hey, we are doing the best we can. They seem to get how important Family is to Rian and me, and I think this is a true miracle.
(Kidding about how I teach gratefulness)
What I love about the kids is that they are so smart; so resilient; so open to loving and laughing; and so clueless when they call you to the mat for something you said you’d do, but haven’t done yet. I have to love how genuine they are!
So, here’s to Advent; Hope; Light; Gratefulness; And the idea that I will actually, maybe, hopefully, remember to read our daily verse each day and my daughters will continue to find things to feel joyous about throughout this season.
