Something interesting happened to me.
My son asked me what my religion was. That took startled me because I have been attending church with our family. Admittedly, out of respect, I no longer take communion but their father has opted out of communion when he felt that he needed to attend confession. It isn't uncommon for Catholics to quietly pray during communion. So, Christopher's question surprised me.
I explained to my son that I had respect for all faiths but I didn't think that there was any single way to God/Goddess.
I told him that I didn't believe that a higher power would care what name we called him or her. If God does see us as spiritual children then I can compare his/her actions with my own parenting. If my son started calling me some other name, I would not disown him and if he spat at me and denied I was his mother, I would still love him and never dream of sending him to a place of eternal torture. So, I found it difficult to believe that a higher power would be less compassionate then I am.
Then we talked about the fact that I feel drawn to Wicca because it seems logical to me that a higher power could be both male and female. I also said that I thought that I had always been pagan but I had to give myself permission to find my own way. Once I reached a certain age I became more confident in my own ability to find a path that works for me.
He wasn't upset and told me that he didn't believe everything in the bible or that the Catholic Church taught, but he felt that Catholicism was closest to the truth. I told him that was all right. He is allowed to find his own way.
What was even more interesting was that my 11 year old daughter said that she didn't like that God was almost always referred to as a he. She liked the idea of a female side to the divine.
So, little by little, I seem to be coming out of the broom closet.
My son asked me what my religion was. That took startled me because I have been attending church with our family. Admittedly, out of respect, I no longer take communion but their father has opted out of communion when he felt that he needed to attend confession. It isn't uncommon for Catholics to quietly pray during communion. So, Christopher's question surprised me.
I explained to my son that I had respect for all faiths but I didn't think that there was any single way to God/Goddess.
I told him that I didn't believe that a higher power would care what name we called him or her. If God does see us as spiritual children then I can compare his/her actions with my own parenting. If my son started calling me some other name, I would not disown him and if he spat at me and denied I was his mother, I would still love him and never dream of sending him to a place of eternal torture. So, I found it difficult to believe that a higher power would be less compassionate then I am.
Then we talked about the fact that I feel drawn to Wicca because it seems logical to me that a higher power could be both male and female. I also said that I thought that I had always been pagan but I had to give myself permission to find my own way. Once I reached a certain age I became more confident in my own ability to find a path that works for me.
He wasn't upset and told me that he didn't believe everything in the bible or that the Catholic Church taught, but he felt that Catholicism was closest to the truth. I told him that was all right. He is allowed to find his own way.
What was even more interesting was that my 11 year old daughter said that she didn't like that God was almost always referred to as a he. She liked the idea of a female side to the divine.
So, little by little, I seem to be coming out of the broom closet.
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