Each night, as part of our children's bedtime routine, we read to them from the bible. Lizzy has inherited Isaac's children's bible stories, while Isaac has moved onto a children's bible. It is apparently the same bible that Ben remembers having when he was a young boy.
The other day we were reading about Adam & Eve, and their leaving the Garden of Eden. At the end of the story, Isaac had a very serious look on his face. It was obvious that something big was going on in his mind. So I asked, "Do you want to ask me anything about what we just read". Without a pause he askes, "Why do we have to die when we grow old?" God had told Adam & Eve that part of the outcome of sinning was that they would die when they were old, and he wanted to know why.
I had this image of him thinking that mummy & daddy were old and maybe we might die of old age any moment now. I believe we managed to get through an answer to his satisfaction, and I am happy to report that he was not taumatised by it.
So each night now we are talking about what we have read. It's really great to see how his little mind works and absorbs everything he hears, but sometimes those big questions of life are hard to answer. There is nothing like the innocent question of a 4 year old to make you look at some of those questions that we sometimes like to tuck away in the furthurest parts of our minds.
2 comments:
I recently found myself editing a bible story to Madeline - I left out the bit where after David knocks Goliath in the head with a stone and he falls over - They chop his head off!!!! I didn't even know about that bit (This was in Benny's old "David & Goliath" story book) Em.
Heh - they only bible story I have editted to date involved a woman driving a tent peg into the head of a sleeping man (do not remember the names of the people involved).
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