A Time for Holy

Before I ever made the choice to educate my kids at home I wanted to do two things: teach them to read and lead them to Christ. It was an amazing honor to teach my oldest son to read when he was just 4 years old. He just wanted it so badly and all I really had to do was open the door for him, give him some guidance and he was off and running. In regards to faith, he is on his own wandering journey that I cannot control. So far, he has really only taken to reading.

My second son, conversely, seems to be wandering in his journey toward reading, and yet is the one who has taken to living like Jesus lived. He chose to demonstrate that this weekend.

On Good Friday, I took him to a church near our home that had set up a walk-through Easter experience. It was a contemplative time to consider not just the story of Easter but the impact of the life and death of Christ and the whole story of God throughout human history. And it was brimming with creative expression.

As B and I walked through he wanted to engage in all of it, stations for children, stories for adults, explanations of Old Testament sacrifices and how Jesus fulfilled them all. Together, we put ashes on our hands, nailed crimson cloth to the cross, fingered through some smooth rocks, and walked through an interpretation of the empty tomb. At the end of our journey there was a private space for taking communion.

He asked, "What do we do here?"

I said, " Well, this is something you do if you consider yourself to be a follower of Christ. It's a way to identify or connect with Jesus who gave his body and blood for you to take away the consequences of our sins. If we believe Jesus was who he said he was and that he did what he said he did then we can take these symbols as a way of remembering his sacrifice for our sins."

He said, "I believe, Mom. Can I have some?"

I know he does. "Yes," I said. "This is the body of Christ, broken for you. This is the blood of Jesus, shed for you."

And I shared communion with my 8 year old son... for the very first time.

"Can I have more?"
"It's not a snack. It's a reminder."
"I like it."
"Me too."
"Can I keep the cup?"
"Sure."

It was wonderful to share this quiet little moment of eternal significance with my boy at such an unexpected time and place. All I really had to do was open the door, give him a little guidance and he, too, is off and running.