Monday, May 16, 2005

Kiddie Pool Ponderings

Today Bo and Emma were swimming in the kiddie pool in the back yard. Bo was busy dipping Buzz Lightyear under the water, when he looked at me seriously and asked, "Mama, what does it mean to be baptized?"

They really need to send people to school for parenting, just to give you a heads up on this stuff.

As if that one question wasn't enough, there were a few more to follow:

"Why do people get baptized?"
"Do we have to get baptized?"
"How many times can you get baptized?"

I did have one question for him while passing through this gauntlet:
"Where on earth did you hear that word?"

"My Young Readers Bible."
I swear, we have not used this word outside of reading that. While I was responding to the question "Do you have to get baptized?" Bo inserted a thought. "Well, Jesus did." Yes, he did. And while I do not know much about the doctrines or theology, I do know that if Bo wants to be baptized, and is able to express what it means, we will do it. And we will invite people to witness it.

I'm not sure if my answers were accurate, well thought out, or clear, but Bo did come away with one clear impression. You have to be able to go all the way under water to do it. His reply: "Well, I'm not going all the way under in this dirty water!"

He graduated from Public School Kindergarten today. He has never been to Sunday School. He has no concept that people live anywhere but near people they love and who gather together frequently. When the church has meetings, he is with a babysitter. When the church is together, eating, hanging out, he is witnessing the Lord in real life. Don't tell me he isn't getting enough. Don't tell me that you think that Jesus Christ in the daily life of human beings isn't enough.

I don't know what he'll grow up to be. I'm glad this is his beginning.

4 comments:

jayjay said...

Aw shucks, that's amazing!! I guess he will ask about transubstantiation next week. . . only kidding. I don't even know what that is, and you'd have to be a Catholic to go there. What a glorious revelation quietly growing inside your wee lad without external human influences apart from the love of his parents/family/friends and above all within the enfolding arms of His Lord. Sigh.

jayjay said...

I wish I knew how to get a photo up on my weblog site. It seems to request a website for the photo, and I don't keep mine on one of those. How did you do it? (ONLY if it's not too technical)

tabitha jane said...

jayjay: i just happened to be passing by and i thought i'd answer your question: all you have to do is get an online host for your pictures. i use photobucket.com to host mine. it is easy and free from there. First, you save a picture you want on your blog on your computer, then you log on to photobucket and hit browse to add the pic. Then, once it is added, you just either copy and past the URL tag (which is clearly marked) to wherever you need it to be, or if you want to blog with a pic you can either copy and past the URL to the body of your blog or log in to photobucket, choose the pic you want to be in your blog and hit the button that says blog. when you sign up for an account you can enter the information that will allow photobucket to know your blog . . .
hopr that helps!

also, Sarah: great story about the wee lad . . . melts the heart really.

Charles said...

So my son, Ryan, has just made it through his first year and watched a cartoon with the devil and angle on each shoulder. Now he is having battles with the devil in his head all the time. It would be funny if it didn’t bother him so much. You just don’t know what kids will decide to run with. I feel like I have pulled him from a cult and I’m trying to reprogram him. But then most Christians have replaced a real relationship with a relationship with there mind and think its’ God. So maybe it’s best to go through this at 6 years old.