Can I Get a Witness,

Or At Least a Play Date?

I was driving home from pre-school today with my daughters and a friend (all under 4 years of age). As we drove through Oakland, they scoured intensely the horizons of their view for any spot of Christmas Decorations. As we drove my daughter talked about a nearby neighborhood church building, covered in an explosion – very much over the top – of Christmas lights, mangers scenes, and illuminated palm trees. She exclaimed with glee that if we went there we’d have the chance to see the “Holy Family” and the other statues there – including a grown-up baby Jesus. The friend asked who Jesus is, and my daughter responding matter-of-factly saying, “you know,… the Son of God.”

I chuckled as I drove listening to this dialogue…smiling at the cuteness of the situation and then wondering about the context. Is it because they’re children that they can talk so matter-of-factly about faith, spirituality, and discipleship? Is it because they’re minds are simple and they can’t measure the potential awkwardness of their discussion in our pluralistic world and culture? Or is there a freedom and grace that we lose as we get older? And if we do lose such a grace is it by our choices of non-freedom or fear of rejection, or is it because we complicate the world more than it needs to be?

I'm struck by the fearlessness that my daughter showed in her comments and reactions. She was fearless, because she had nothing to be afraid of. It was a conversation among friends, sharing their perspective, talking with not just to one another. How often do we - do I - think or feel similar things when I'm talking about my faith or the ways in which I practice my spirituality? If there is some sort of freedom or grace that we somehow lose as we age, it most likely is the freedom to allow ourselves to be ourselves without fear of rejection, judgement, or some sort of self-loathing.