Is God Pretend?
![IMG_7494[2]](http://www.squigglemum.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/IMG_74942.JPG "IMG_7494[2]")
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that Little Miss Three has a vivid imagination. She loves make believe games, and has more than one or two imaginary little friends. So I wasn’t surprised that she asked this question at breakfast. Since a few mums have asked me how to explain God to kids, I thought you’d like to eavesdrop on our conversation. It went something like this:
LM3: Mummy, my fairies are having breakfast on the table today.
Me: That’s nice. I hope they are eating up all their cereal.
LM3: Yep, but it’s just pretend cereal.
Me: (laugh) Of course.
LM3: (Pause…) Mummy, is God pretend?
Me: That’s a good question you know. God’s not pretend, like your fairies. We can’t see your fairies, because we just imagine them. God is different. We can’t see Him, but He’s real. (Brain kicking into overdrive as I try to come up with a toddler-friendly way of explaining this… am thankful that the trees catch my eye outside). Look out the window. It’s a windy day today, isn’t it?
LM3: Uh huh.
Me: Can you see the wind?
LM3: Yes!
Me: Are you sure? I can’t see the wind. I can just see trees! I can see branches bending and leaves swishing and swaying, but I can’t actually see the wind. Can you REALLY see the wind?
LM3: Nope. I can just see leaves dancing in the wind.
Me: We can’t see the wind, but we know it’s there because we can see things moving around in it. That’s a bit like God. We can’t see Him, but we know He’s there because we see how He works.
LM3: (just taking it in…) It might be a good kite day Mummy.
Me: (laugh) Yes, but not until that cereal is finished…
__________________________________
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for
and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1
if only every question coming in the next few years could be explained so simply. I know I will be looking here for the answers.
.-= Nicole´s last blog ..Magic Drops of Colour. =-.
See, that explanation would never have satified me as a child, I would have rolled my eyes at any adult who tried to explain that god was real. Like I do now
(I think I’ve always been a skeptic, not just in my grown-up days!)
Though I’m sure it IS a great kite day! *giggles* I wish I could just run off to play with a kite!
.-= Fiona´s last blog ..My Distraction: The Great Ocean Road =-.
So sweet! My son asked me why we can’t see grass grow yesterday…I love their questions
.-= Peace Mitchell´s last blog ..Baltic Amber teething necklace from Aquabub =-.
=) Very awesome. I will have to remember that.
.-= Meg’s a Mommy´s last blog ..6 months! =-.
You are such a clever Mummy, I never would have thought of that analogy!
.-= Christie´s last blog ..Raid the Recycling: More Lids! =-.
Perfect!!!
.-= Sarah S-B´s last blog ..& the winner is………. =-.
My 4-year-old son is into make believe big time at the moment and it’s so much fun. Today he went from being Sam, to being “Samba”, a little boy with a pet caterpillar by the name of Sanda, to Steve Irwin catching crocodiles in the toy room. I have always been very clear with him about the difference between real and make believe as I don’t want him to ever think that God or the Bible stories aren’t real. I think our kids are going to have a harder time separating truth and fiction than we did due to the amazing advances in technology. When we were growing up, a cartoon looked pretend. Now, the 3D animations make everything look very, very real. I am a great believer in teaching our kids critical literacy – learning to question and evaluate everything they see and read. Sam already watches the ads on TV and asks, “Mummy, what are they trying to get me to buy with this one?” And those moments make me very proud
.-= Karen Collum´s last blog ..Third place winner =-.
Whether one believes in God or not, that was a lovely lovely way of defining your faith Cath. well done. xx
Grace asked me this evening how the third person on earth was this evening. Biblically i had no idea and you try explaining that it was probably some ape-like creature crawling around the jungle hunting for nuts and bananas
x
Nicely done.
We are in the “why” questions stage which I have waited a long time for and yet find myself a bit frustrated by. Then there are the “How do you…” questions which are better than when the child takes matters into her own hands. The other day she decided she wanted an orange shirt so she took off her white tank top and began coloring it with an orange marker. She was quite into her little project before I found her. When I understood her purpose I explained that wasn’t the way to get an orange shirt, so of course she asked how to do it. I could have (I suppose) just bought her an orange shirt, but instead we went to the craft store and bought some orange dye…and I’m sure I’ll be blogging about that little project soon…
.-= KDL´s last blog ..Inclusion on the Football Field =-.
My favourite analogy of all Catherine! It really is a case of seeing the things God begins to do in our lives when we choose to put our faith in Him. What a special conversation to have with LM3. Hope there are many more like it to come.
PS I had to giggle at the grass growing question. A very inquisitive mind working!
.-= Amanda´s last blog ..Celebrating a Happy Beginning =-.
Beautiful! I think we should all look at the world and ask questions like our children do. It’s so easy to forget what a magnificent place it really is when there are lunches to make, bills to pay and the house to clean. What is really more important …..?
.-= Claudette´s last blog ..Note to self – get over it and get onto it. =-.