As you know, I worry. Yeah, that’s just what I do. More than I should. I worry about my kids. I worry about my wife. I worry about my mom & dad. I worry about Autumn’s mom & dad. I worry about my and Autumn’s siblings and their families. I worry that one day people will not be able to find any of John Coltrane’s work. I worry that my grandkids won’t have bananas to eat. I worry that women think it is condescending that I hold the door for them. I worry about my country…
You get the picture.
But, one thing I struggle with more than any of these is how to teach my children about God and Jesus. I worry that I won’t make the right decisions to make sure they are strong in their faith and belief about God and Jesus but, at the same time, don’t want to push them to believe something, just because I believe.
We don’t go to church every Sunday. For me and my personal faith, that seems to work. It seems to work with my wife’s beliefs and faith. But, I am increasingly observant that Petrea is, and soon Soah will be, learning about God and Jesus and getting to an age where, I think, they need regular direction about their faith and their religion.
To get it out there, I strongly believe. I have been blessed with more than I could ever want and God gives me those things again each and every day – I don’t deserve them at all. I believe, but I have a lot of questions. Most of them are just details that don’t really affect my core beliefs but my tendency to worry, well, muddies the water.
I grew up in a traditional church setting with traditional services and hymns. I like the pomp and circumstance of ceremony in church. All of it. I like the pipe organ. I like the pulpit. I HAVE to have communion from a loaf of bread, not a box of crackers. But, we were out of town not long ago and went with some friends to a contemporary service – and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed seeing people excited about the message. I enjoyed the music. I couldn’t bring myself to jump and wave and holler during the service, but I certainly didn’t judge others for expressing their joy in whatever way they wanted – I actually enjoyed seeing that. I didn’t necessarily agree with the message that was shared, but that isn’t the point. I was excited and I enjoyed the informality and passion that took place during the worship service.
So, my point in writing this lies in that experience juxtaposed with my comfort level in my religious practices.That comfort level has been taken for a ride…
I worry (and can bet) that I don’t have all the tools that my kids need to teach them about Christ. Do I sacrifice my comfort to make sure that they have a sound and accepting and comfortable place to learn about God? Stay tuned… I am sure this one takes more than a blog post to figure out!
