Children speak ..

[RZehr]

6 year old in checkout line: Cough, cough. “HAD THIS COUGH EVER SINCE I GOT BACK FROM CHINA.”
He’s never been to China. Says he got that from Grampa.

[temporal1]

6 year old in checkout line: Cough, cough. “HAD THIS COUGH EVER SINCE I GOT BACK FROM CHINA.”
He’s never been to China. Says he got that from Grampa.

Grampas can be dangerous commodities.

[temporal1]

4 years old!

4-year-old daughter: I wish we could start days over.
Me: Why?
Daughter: Because THAT way, if I messed up and did something BAD, I could start over and then I would know not to do it!

Me too, darlin. Me too.....

[temporal1]

Well.
This year has brought a new experience. i’ve been helping my granddaughter, now 13, get through remote Confirmation classes in her Catholic Church. The church is not big, i’ve been a background person often enough over a few years that no one is surprised i’m there. Part of the background noise, so to speak. The priest, teachers, children, parents, recognize me on some level. So, i got to “audit” the remote zoom classes with the young ones. This was new to me, so, i was interested.

The church and school are welcoming to families, they want and expect families to participate.

Remote is not the best. But it’s what we have. So.

Tomorrow is the final zoom class, then there will be a Confirmation mass. They are preparing in a few ways.
Attendance will be limited, masks, and so on.

Each confirmand is expected to answer a few questions in writing to submit to their leader.
We kinda worked on these, not doing spectacularly .. finally, my grdaughter told me she thought she could do them on her own. i said, ok. and wished her well. Later, she called, then emailed her questions+answers.

i thought she did such a nice job, i wanted to add them here.
i don’t know if this meets the class’s expectations. but it goes beyond my expectations.

Confirmation questions
what did you hear?
I hear that God is someone i can always count on and that even when I am sad or upset I can turn to him for help & guidance.

What are you compelled to do?
I am compelled to spread the word of God and to be confirmed into the catholic faith.

Which gift of the Holy Spirit speaks loudest to you?
The gift of understanding speaks loudest to me.

Why do you want to be confirmed?
I want to be confirmed so I can embrace and strengthen my connection with God and grow closer to him.

i’m touched by this. is it because i’m her grandmother? either way, it means a lot to me.
zoom is not that great. it appears, the important message got through.

i advised her about the capital C for Catholic.
and we talk about how the word is not always capitalized.

in the classes, they spoke quite a bit about the difficulty of being a Christian in the world. that’s important, because it’s true. even for children. we’ve begun talking about how she might “spread the word of God” (which is more than puzzling to these children). the world is telling them NOT to do that.

i encouraged her there are small but important ways. i encouraged her that reading from scriptures when beginning our family zoom Christmas and Easter family gatherings is one way that she has already done!

they begin a lifetime of learning. who knows where-all these children will go in their lifetimes?

[temporal1]

i’d like to add here, it’s repeating, but, maybe helpful.
the decision for Catholicism for my granddaughter is not mine. it’s not easy for me. i’ve been glad her great-grandmothers are not present, it would have been hard for them to accept.

my daughter married a non-practicing Catholic who promised she could choose whatever church they attended, he did not care. well. that was courtship talk. i believe he was sincere. he just did not know himself very well. after marriage and their daughter was born, he decided Catholicism or nothing. even tho he remains a non-practicing Catholic. his family is mostly the same. they claim Catholicism, but are mostly non-practicing. some are critical, a few respectful, but ..

my daughter had to make some hard decisions. they moved to an area where churches, including Mennonite, are liberal. my first interest in their area’s churches was Mennonite, but a trusted MD CM member suggested that might not be the best choice, to instead consider another more conservative church .. i looked into what was available.

we visited a couple of churches. one had a pastor we all liked very much. he was a former Jew, he knew the Bible, his sermons were pertinent and addressed the vibrant congregation from a scriptural perspective. the mix of ages there was encouraging. unfortunately, the music was loud and a significant part of the service. they did not deny it. earplugs were available at the entrance to the sanctuary. years later, we still speak warmly about the pastor.

we did not visit the known liberal churches, PCUSA, ELCA, MCUSA, etc. i’ve only learned about EO on this forum. i’ve never visited.

so, the choice “funneled down” to the local, not large, Catholic Church. half of the family was at ease.

a lot because of what i learned by reading on MD, the idea that it’s important to attend church, even if it’s not ideal, then reading posts from numbers of members who were doing just that, i decided, as grandmother without grandfather, without other close male leaders in the family, with the child’s father unwilling to lead, the best thing i could do for all would be to support my family’s decision, and help in every way possible. even tho i’m not Catholic.

for most of my life, i’ve believed it’s helpful in life to have “short plans” and “long plans.”
each of us has to deal with our present reality, the everyday, responsibilities and obligations. positive and negative.

however, each of us can also have longer term hopes+dreams! and these can be life-giving, esp when times are trying.
in all matters, i believe it’s wise to leave plenty of room for God’s will. because God’s will happens.
often for positive unexpected outcomes we could have never imagined. i want God’s will! He knows best.

i also believe God specially protects the innocent.
my granddaughter is at home in her church, and i’m grateful for it. it’s not a perfect church. they trend more liberal at times than i prefer. they do not focus on politics. some members try to bring it, it’s quietly and effectively discouraged.

my grdaughter is a tender trusting believer - in Truth. which transcends denom label. in a world that tells her in no uncertain terms, she must NOT share her faith, or speak of any sort of Christianity.

we all live in some form of prison on earth. none of us can have “everything,” not everything we think we want.
God decides what sort of prison(s) we may occupy. and He provides ways for us to endure. and even thrive.

i look at the short term, i have hopes for the longer term. i trust in the Holy Spirit to guide.
i’ve experienced and witnessed so much in my life, so much beyond expectations, i have to believe. and trust.

i’ve learned a lot on this forum. i doubt i could have coped with the Catholic decision very well at all without many things i learned on this forum. i am coping. and i am attempting to give credit where credit is due. with this particular church we’re involved with, and with my many Anabaptist and other friends on this forum.

i have my long term dream of taking my family to join appleman’s fellowship.
i’ve seen more surprising things happen in my life. if it’s God’s will, it will be.

we are to encourage one another. i believe this is pleasing to God.

[temporal1]

Update:
my granddaughter’s words were rejected. she must rewrite in essay/paragraph form, not “bullets.”
good thing she turned it in early.

i was impressed with her succinct response. “‘enough’ is as good as a feast.”

it will be interesting to read her next attempt.

[ohio jones]

she must rewrite in essay/paragraph form, not “bullets.”

Sounds like something a Mennonite school might require.

[temporal1]

she must rewrite in essay/paragraph form, not “bullets.”

Sounds like something a Mennonite school might require.

i was just thinking i wish she could have your counsel.

from my view ..
this is/should be a matter of heart and intent, more than a lesson in English composition.

knowing her, she wouldn’t write what she didn’t believe .. i pray she doesn’t change.
i think her words and heart would please Jesus. why tamper with it?

Jesus spoke directly and succinctly. without bullets.

The leader kept saying he was asking 2 questions.
To me, his first question was 3 questions, the second made 4 questions.

but you know my penchant for dividing out thoughts, breaking them down into bite-size pieces.
so, naturally, her first effort looked great to me. i wondered, “where did she get this?”
do i talk like this, too?? maybe i do.

i admire the gift of brevity. i believe it is a gift.

she turned it in early. now THAT’s another topic, all its own.

she had a very hard time getting the connection between turning her work in, and being graded for it.
for years, she OFTEN did the work, did not bother to turn it in. her teachers+mother “beside themselves.”

i doubt this leader has any idea what a milestone we have here.

[temporal1]

her report cards were interesting. “A”s and “F”s, evenly split. “missing assignments.”
her mother having a heart attack. for years.

i thought it was interesting. she did the work. that was good enough for her.
being a grandparent is the best. all joy, no worry about the small stuff.

i assured my daughter, she’s learning. that’s what she’s supposed to be doing.

[steve-in-kville]

From my 5 y/o twin daughter:

"I'm five and so is Riley 'cuz we're twins!"

Huh. Simply amazing how that works.