When did you stop drawing as a kid? I was thinking about that the other day when it occured to me that I don't draw and that as far as drawing skills are concerned, I'm hardly more proficient than a first or second grader. If I was to draw a family and a house and the sun right now and hang it on my fridge, you'd assume I had a six year old living with me. But beyond my lack of artistic skills, I wondered why I stopped drawing.
Clearly, kids have their own skill set. For me, it was probably writing, even very early on. I've always been able to channel my imagination into words and ideas. And for some kids, it was art. They were drawing circles around me in 2nd grade and they're still drawing circles around me - even if the circles have gotten a lot bigger ;) The point is, these drawing kids didn't stop writing when they were in 2nd grade just because they were not as good at it as I was. So why did I stop drawing?
I think sometimes we humans have a tendency to stop doing things when we can't be good at it. Whether its drawing or singing or driving a car, if we don't advance, we stop the dance. If we don't excel, we must repel. If we don't aspire, we must retire. Included in this, of course, would be our relationship with God.
How many kids do we lose from religion because they don't feel that they have any ability at religion? I know that sounds competitive, but think about it. So and so has such a great relationship with Jesus... but I don't even know if He exists. I must be doing something wrong. I'll try something else for a while.
I think we must be aware of this factor of human nature when we deal with young ones. We must make them aware that there are many more of us non-Picasso's out there when it comes to religion than Rembrandt's in the making. And I think we need to let them know that anything a person does for God is pleasing to Him - no matter how much it looks like a stick figure robbing a bank.
Peace out!
3 comments:
Very well said, although I would change the word "religion" with "faith". Religion is a loaded word - you can be religious without faith - which is where I once was.
The key is to help them see the unseen...as in John 20:29;
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
How do we do that? It's encouragement, it's love, it's helping them understand that we ALL struggle with faith, but the key is to keep talking to God, to learn and understand that Christ is there to help us. I can't do it alone, you can't do it alone - none of us can. With God's help, he will help us in our walk.
Good point, Andy. I often thought that churches ruined faith for me. That is, until I found a church where I felt God. A church is just a house where you visit God and religion is just the language you choose to converse with God. The rest is you.
I had too many conundrums about religion growing up. I felt God, but didn't observe him in others. I felt conflicted over how I thought God would present himself in others - only to be disappointed, time and again.
My best moments in my faith are where I have felt a personal connection with God. When looking at a beautiful meadow and wondering how God knew to put it together that way. When bringing my children into the world and feeling protected by God. The simplicity and joy they have at life.
And none of those things have anything to do with religion. They are all about faith.
Will, Heather...
I think you guys have helped me determine a direction for an upcoming blog post...definitely will take some more ideas from Miller as well as my own recent experiences in the CoC...
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