When Doctrine Gets Dirty

Highly recommended series

Ham (my 3 1/2 year-old) and I went to the library yesterday to get one of her favorite videos. She wanted to share it with Smooshy (my 8 month old), which in and of itself, is just precious. (I am constantly amazed at how thoughtful Ham is when it comes to other people.) Sometimes, however, her observant and curious personality comes back to bite me.

I guess 'fate' is getting me back for when I was little and asked my dad questions like, "Why is 'y' a 'y?' Why isn't it a 'b?' I mean, who decided that it was a 'y?' Who decided that blue is actually blue? What if blue is actually green? What if we've got it wrong?" (That was when I was 8 years old) Later, it was, "How can 'x' equal anything? A letter is not a number! An 'x' is an 'x.' I'm not doing Algebra. I hate Mathematics." My poor parents.

So, as we are checking out her video, Ham notices an unusual-looking coffee cup on the librarian's desk. Unprompted, she looks over at it and says, "That's coffee. I know what that is. But why is there no handle on that cup?" I look at it and notice the inside is a green enamel, like the old depression-Era green. On the outside, it's stainless steel.

Any guesses?

The point is, the librarian explained to us that her father had passed away at 93 years old and left her this special cup. Ham asked why he had died. The librarian said he was sick and old. I watched her to see how she'd react to that, and Ham seemed to take it in stride.

Once we walked outside, however, she wanted a recap.

"Her daddy died?"

"Yes, honey."

"Why?"

"She said he was sick and he was old. God gives us these bodies and one day, our bodies get old and we leave them here, we die, and our new bodies go to Heaven."

"Our new bodies? How do they get to Heaven?"

Hmmmm. OK. At this point, I stop and wonder if this is supposed to be a theological discussion or just a matter of geography. I decide to approach the theological side...because honestly, I can't even describe where Heaven IS. How do you explain a fourth dimension or a parallel universe? And I don't even know that those explanations are accurate.

"When your body dies, and you believe in Jesus, you go to Heaven."

No such luck. She wanted the geographical answer...

"But where is Heaven?"

"Well, Heaven is beyond the sky. Beyond the stars, even."

"So, how do we get there? Do you have to have a parachute?" (Brilliant baby girl)

"No, not even a parachute will get you there. We have to have our new bodies to get there."

At this point, she's crawling up into the car and getting in her car seat. She looks down at her Baby Dance video, and very thoughtfully asks, "Why do babies wear diapers?"

FINALLY, a question I can answer with confidence and brilliance!

"So their poop doesn't fall on the floor."

By the time I got in my seat and was buckling in, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw Ham starting to giggle uncontrollably. We giggled all the way home about it.

I love being a mom. 

Answer to what kind of 'cup' Ham discovered:



Vintage Stanley Thermos