My children have discovered a new ploy to stay up late. Right around the time the lights are supposed to go out they start asking questions about God. They know either Scott or I will be hooked, we'll plant ourselves on the edge of the bed and launch into a deep theological diatribe.
One of Jack's (9) earliest questions, "If there is fire in hell, why is dark?"
This earned him at least a half an hour of sleep free discussion.
Will's (7) latest question was, "I'm going to heaven since I have Jesus in my heart, right, Mom?"
(There is a deep seated fear of hell in my children. They come by it honestly. I was also haunted by it as a child...in fact, I still get a little nervous about all the weeping and gnashing of teeth).
And last night, Addison (4) asked, "Mom, will you help me ask God into my heart?"
I reassured him, "Addie, you already asked Jesus into your heart."
He looked at me and said, "I know but I want God in there, too."
How do you explain the Godhead to a 4 year old boy...or a 39 year old woman for that matter? I still struggle with wrapping my mind around the wonders of God. That discussion would definitely have earned Addie an extra hour of talking time. So I did what all good parents do who value their child's rest time and need a good night to sort out the trinity on their own.
I flipped off the light and said, "We'll talk about it in the morning."
Some discussions need a good nights sleep and a cup of coffee in hand before they can be dealt with. Starbucks, here I come.
Susanna Aughtmon is a freelance writer, married to church planter Scott, and mom to three sweet boys, 9 and under. She likes to spend her free moments trying to resurrect plants in her garden, eating chocolate, reading fiction and checking the comments on her blog, Confessions of a Tired Supergirl.
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