By Meredith
Sometime when I was about 5 or 6, there was a falling out between ministers at my church. My father liked our senior minister who “won” the falling out and continued to attend. My mother, however, like many of the other members of our church, preferred our music minister who “lost” the falling out and stopped attending. This was actually a wonderful thing for us children. We had a choice of whether to attend church or not. I went more often than not, likely because it afforded me time with my father whom I adored and gave me space from my mother whom I struggled to connect with, but it also meant I voluntarily chose church and God.
I really think that making the choice to go to church and having the option to stay home, helped develop my faith. At a certain point, belief and faith are choices you must make. And I honestly don’t think dictating beliefs to anyone, including children, makes sense. For me it wasn’t a choice between either accepting my parent’s beliefs or rebelling; it was choosing to believe or not. That allowed me to choose God without it being about my parents and that was good for me.
Sometime when I was about 5 or 6, there was a falling out between ministers at my church. My father liked our senior minister who “won” the falling out and continued to attend. My mother, however, like many of the other members of our church, preferred our music minister who “lost” the falling out and stopped attending. This was actually a wonderful thing for us children. We had a choice of whether to attend church or not. I went more often than not, likely because it afforded me time with my father whom I adored and gave me space from my mother whom I struggled to connect with, but it also meant I voluntarily chose church and God.
I really think that making the choice to go to church and having the option to stay home, helped develop my faith. At a certain point, belief and faith are choices you must make. And I honestly don’t think dictating beliefs to anyone, including children, makes sense. For me it wasn’t a choice between either accepting my parent’s beliefs or rebelling; it was choosing to believe or not. That allowed me to choose God without it being about my parents and that was good for me.