When Julia started preschool in September it was with a heavy heart. We had loved her being cared for by my sister in law every day and starting school was just a scary prospect. What if the other kids were mean? What if SHE was mean? What if she felt abandoned, started a coup in her classroom and overthrew the preschool administration? My thoughts were admittedly running a bit wild! But we took the plunge and it has been an amazing experience both for her and us. We are lucky that my sister in law still keeps Julia in the afternoon but the mornings have expanded her in ways we could not dream. They have cooking class, dance, music, science and most importantly chapel. She has chapel 4 times a week and it has opened her eyes to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We have always been a religious family per se. We pray over meals, we celebrate Christmas and Easter and talk about more than just the man in the red suit and the bunny, but this new revelation of faith has been transformative for us as a family.
We get snippets of Julia's day over dinner or when she breaks into a rousing rendition of "The B-I-B-L-E, that's the book for me..." in the car or while playing in the yard but usually we talk about God and Faith while she is in the bath. A kind of Tub Time Theology. We talk about whatever is on her mind but often the conversation comes around to Jesus, God, etc. She has so much insight into the stories that we read about in the Bible. When talking about the Resurrection Julia said, "Jesus went away and all of his friends and his mommy Mary were really sad and they cried a lot. But Jesus came back on Easter Day! He's not dead...he is alive!" It literally brought tears to my eyes to hear her talk with such excitement and hope about God and Jesus. It is beautiful to see the Holy Spirit working through her. Having Faith be a part of an ongoing conversation is so exciting and I'm looking forward to years of this conversation going on forever!
