[Source](Image by truthseeker08 from Pixabay)
"What's the story with those silly old prayers?"
my daughter asked me driving home after her first full week of school. It had only dawned on myself and my wife that religion was not apart of her upbringing. She is going to a Catholic school now so religion is a subject but we don't practice religion at home really. In school they say a morning prayer and an evening one and they are pretty nice and childish. The prayer is the same as when I went to school.
Oh my god I come to say,
Thank you for your love today.
Thank you formy family,
and all the friends you give to me.
Guard me through the dark at night
and in the morning send your light Amen
Fairly straight forward solid prayer there for kids who are afraid of night monsters but overall its fairly alright.
My mother used to pull me to mass as a child but now even she doesn't go as we all got a bit tired of being told how to live our lives by a 60 year old single man in a cloak. My father used mass as a place to practice his singing. He was a member of the gospel choir and he enjoyed the camaraderie rather than the actual religion. By the time I was 16 they made us make our own choices and I choose not to go. My wife never went to mass. She's a scientist. Everything is matter of fact and some son of god turning a few loaves and fishes into many loaves and fishes just didn't cut it with her. I will always remember my mother saying to me
"Religion is fine and all that but don't pay too much attention to it"
I kind of lived by that mantra ever since. So when my little one said what she said, I burst laughing. I did not know how to answer what the story was with those silly old prayers. They are pretty silly really aren't they. Uttering words up to the sky in order for a guy with a beard to answer them but never does. Now I am not saying there is no god. But I am not saying there is one either. As I said in a recent post, my daughter is very clever so you have to think about your answer before you blurt it out because once she hears it then there is no turning back and 900 questions later you are losing the will to live and regret ever saying anything.
So I just told her about Holy God in a bit of a top line kind of way. I didn't mention the son, Mary , the three wise men or the donkey. Didn't delve into the book of genesis. Just God is good and be kind.
She seemed to digest that and there were no questions. So onto the next item on her agenda. Here we go. What's the next clangor that I am gonna have to juggle.
"Daddy , if Santa is getting me the Lego friends for Christmas and nanny is getting me Sylvanian families, the other nanny is getting me Paw Patrol Mighty Marshall then what are you and mammy getting me?
The clock was ticking! She's too clever for her own good. She knows what she is doing here in the hunt for that extra present at Christmas. She's a cunning genius this one. The planting of the question here was absolutely brilliant. She knew. She knew I knew. A bead of sweat appeared on my brow. This is a question that my wife knows the answer to . If I say the wrong thing here , her childhood Christmas memories are going to be either ruined. If I give in , I will have to buy a present every year and my wife will give me the blame. I had to go with my default answer here.
"I think we need to talk about this with mammy as well because she is not here"
Give me the silly old prayers question any day. Again my answer seemed to be sufficient enough to look out the window again after her gaze was piercing my soul.
Her mouth opened .
"Daddy where do babies come from?"
We're home! And from 20 metres away I shouted back , "Asssssskkkkkkkk MAMMMMMMMMMYYYYY".
