Sunday, November 2, 2008

god talk


today at lunch we had an interesting conversation with gillian, who will be 7 next month.

gillian: mom, i want to ask you a question, and it's okay if you don't know the answer, you can just say "i don't know" and i won't be mad.

me: ok, go ahead. (as rick and i both laugh quietly at this introduction)

gillian: well, if God were voting, who would He vote for?

me: umm...well...

gillian: you know, like if God were down here and living down here like us.

me: ummm...well...ask your dad.

rick: well...ummm...i don't think God would care, really.

gillian: well if He DID care, who would he pick?

rick: he really doesn't care about that stuff like we sometimes hope He does. (of course this aside is something she didn't get but he said it and it speaks to all of us so i wanted to include it in the dialogue.)

gillian: well i think He would vote for obama because he would probably want things to change. but then why would He want things to change if He made everything?

rick: maybe it's because people messed up what He made.

gillian: oh, okay, so then He needs things to change to fix what people have messed up.

(rick and i look at each other incredulously and are pretty much speechless.)

gillian: well, you know, i would want aunt sara and uncle john (my sister and her husband) to vote for obama, so i thought if God would vote for him then they would too.

the conversation continued a bit longer, with us ineptly trying to explain that people have a choice in voting and that it's okay that aunt sara and uncle john are probably voting for mccain and we like obama because the great thing is we get a choice, blah blah blah. 

but the thing is, we haven't had discussions with the kids to this point about religion/politics/obama/mccain. we have talked about politics i guess in front of them (especially when we have friends over). and we listen to NPR every day on the way to school. but seriously, this kid seems to have a future in politics because she is really following everything as much as her 1st-grade mind can follow. and it's amazing. 

just for the record, aunt sara and uncle john we love you no matter what! :) 

2 comments:

mycotn said...

Hey Kristi. Thanks for sharing a bit of Gillian's insight and curiosity. Moments like that remind me of the precious and joyful side of parenting. Your story also reminded me of similar experience I had recently on the morning drive to school... Just before we arrived at the parking lot, Bailey asked me, "Dad, what does a life well lived look like?" Maybe I should have her compare notes with Gillian.

kristi said...

wow, mike, i think that question would have made me start weeping...i have felt so much guilt lately over NOT showing my kids what a life well lived looks like (although i haven't thought about it in those terms, but you know what i mean). what a great question. and what a great reminder too...

yes, indeed, bailey and gillian could definitely sort out some of these heavy questions together and then share their insight with us...