Out of the mouths of babes

Here's the thing.  I am a Christian.  But I cannot claim that I am a very good Christian.  

I can honestly say that I pray every day.  Every night before I go to bed, I talk to God about my family and ask for help raising my kids, etc.  I make sure to say a prayer of thanks quite often.  Sometimes for a specific thing that happens.  Sometimes just because I am so thankful for my life and the way it has turned out.  I seek God in times of trial and heartache.  Sometimes I even just chit chat with God about things I'm puzzling out in my life as I drive down the road.

I have no trouble talking to people about my beliefs.  I never seek to hide those beliefs.  If someone has questions, I take what I know and do my very best to explain things the way they have been explained to me.  

I do not attend church.  I have my reasons, and I do miss a lot about it all the time.  Jimmy and I have had lengthy discussions about getting back into church and what kind of church we'd like to attend.  

It weighs heavily on me that I haven't had my kids in church from jump.  It is my responsibility to introduce them to some sort of faith.  What they choose to believe as adults is just that - their choice.  But I am supposed to plant the seed for them to embark on that journey for themselves.  

I honestly cannot say that I believe everything the church believes.  Not any church I have ever attended.  Sometimes I just flat out disagree with things said from the pulpit.  However, I do believe quite a lot of it, and I want my children exposed to those facets of my beliefs.  Again, they have to make up their own minds about what makes sense to them as far as a "religion" later in life.

While I cannot say I've done a very good job of imparting these beliefs to my kids (well, Silas, really), that is not to say they know absolutely nothing.  Silas and I have had talks about God.  I have read to him from children's bibles and prayer books.  He's seen a million Veggietales.  So, he's had some exposure.  Just not consistent exposure.  And that does bother me.

So, with all that said, it made me very happy to learn that Silas' preschool is a Christian preschool.  It was explained to me that they teach the kids the basic stories from the Bible (I'm assuming Noah and the ark, Daniel and the lions den, David and Goliath, etc.).  They have a chapel service on Wednesdays.  There are bible verses all over the school.  And, apparently, they pray at mealtime.  

Last night, Jimmy and I made dinner, and I made Silas a plate.  I sat it at his table and was finishing making my own.  I heard Silas pipe up, "hands together, pray" and he began to try to say the prayer they say before meals at school.

Jimmy and I looked at each other and were both grinning from ear to ear.

I asked, "Silas, do you want us all to pray?"  He nodded his head and smiled.

Jimmy and I put our hands together, bowed our heads, and closed our eyes, and I told Silas to go ahead.  He tried a couple of times and then looked at me lost.  He didn't quite know all the words to the prayer yet, but he knew enough of it for me to figure out that it was the exact same prayer I said before every meal as a child.  

It was such an amazing moment for him to have initiated this for our family.  I wanted him to see that 1) it is important to us because it is important to him and 2) I am always there to support him and help him in his spiritual journey with the knowledge that I do have.

So, I asked, "Silas, do you want mommy to say the prayer and then you can tell me if it is the same one you say at school?"  Again, he smiled and nodded.

So, I said the prayer (stumbling a little myself) and then asked if I did it right when we were done.  I had done it right.  The smile on his face was priceless, and the whole exchange made me incredibly proud of him.

Something I should have taught him a long time ago, he brought home himself and made a new part of our dinner routine.  

So, while preschool is still tough in the mornings, and I originally enrolled him in it to prepare him for kindergarten, it is paying off in a much more important way.  It is making the very basic elements of Christianity a part of his life, and thereby, reminding me that I need to be reinforcing them at home.

For that, I said a prayer of thanks.