The Forbidden Peach

We have questions being asked around here all the time. In fact, some days I feel like a walking encyclopedia! For the most part, the questions are easy enough that I can usually find my way around, but every now and then... well, let's just say we get on a topic, and it gets deeper and deeper, and the questions go round and round, and all three girls just pile on top with one query after another. This happened last Saturday night, and it wasn't until Bob came upstairs that I got a little relief.

Joanna has attended Sunday School and Children's Church for the about five months now, and she really seems to enjoy it. I've never been too sure how much she understands, but she has said enough that I know some things are sinking in. She has no problem with the Bible stories themselves, but Saturday night, I came to realize that she does have a bit of a problem with her perception of God and why He allows some things to happen. She started talking about our little baby, Ben, and Danny again and wanting to know more about why they died and what happened to them. This subject is emotionally draining to me, and I so dislike it when the girls go in this direction. Regardless, I explained to her that they had gone to be with Jesus, and that Jesus had made their bodies all better and someday we will get to be with Jesus and Ben and Danny if we love Jesus. We talked a LOT about heaven and what a beautiful place it will be. Chalk one up for me - I had done my good mother duty patiently and felt like I had given a pretty good explanation. Then... Joanna states the ZINGER - "God no like Chinese babies, Moma." What? Of course, he loves Chinese babies too! "No, God no take Chinese babies. I see." Suddenly I am no longer dealing with an eight year old child, but an older soul who has seen too much in her short little life. I began to try to explain that the body remains on earth, but the soul (how do you explain that to a child who is only partially English speaking) is the part we can't see, and it goes to be with God. He will give those little babies new bodies that work perfectly.

The discussion continued, and I tried to explain how sin came into the world. One man, one woman, disobedience, eating a fruit that they had been told not to eat... Again Joanna pipes up with, "No eat fruit, Moma? Fruit bad?" No! Fruit is not bad, but they were told not to eat from one specific tree. Ruthie comes to the rescue and tells Joanna that it was a peach. Joanna panics and points to our bare little peach tree that she ate from last fall. No, Ruthie, it was not a peach. "Well, somebody told me it was a peach," she argues. Abby thinks it was grapes, and I realize that I am losing control of this conversation! Ruthie disappears to go talk to her dad, and when he enters the scene, Joanna begins to try to tell him about the forbidden "peach." When he says it was not a peach, Ruthie continues to insist that "somebody told her it was a peach." Joanna wants to know, "How you know, Moma?" and I throw up my hands and say, OKAY, IT'S BATHTIME!

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PS: I never can get the pictures quite the way I want them, and this time I could not figure out how to label them, so here goes:

1. The snow was filthy after months of being on the ground and being used by two dogs! We told the girls to stay on the patio to play, so they hauled the snow onto the patio and built their snowman there. Kind of missed the point, but I guess they sort of obeyed!

2. Poor Chloe - can you tell that three little girls own her?!