Tuesday, August 11, 2009

My Daughter Is Home And Praying For The Eternal Salvation of Her Mother's Soul

A not so widely known fact about me is that I was baptized as a Lutheran. I was raised by a Catholic and an atheist.

What I am is not important to this story. Because what I am is the mother of a dead child who struggles most days to understand what His purpose is with that little nugget of fantastic pain that I was dealt.

Tonight what I was though, was a haggard and tired woman in a Buddha t-shirt and scrub pants, standing in the middle of her kitchen, fighting with her toddler on whether or not she was loading dirty dishes into the dishwasher. He was mostly unloading. As he screamed "no mama!" my tween approached.

"Here mom this is for you."

"Oh, thanks Boo, this is very nice. Did you do this at church camp?" I only saw the glimpse of the cross and was mostly expecting handmade birthday wishes as doomsday is fast approaching. I looked at my daughter who just got home less than 24 hours ago from a summer with my ex-in-laws.

"Yes, mom. They told me to give it to someone who doesn't go to church."

As my youngest stood clinging to my leg and screaming bloody murder, I peered down at the religious propaganda I held in my hand. Beautifully decorated by my daughter, with the word Mom carefully written on the front, I looked back into her blue eyes.

"Oh gee, thanks kid."

And that's when she stood there and proselytized in the middle of her brother's tantrum.

"Hey babe, let me stop you right there, I don't go to church because I'm 32 years old and I don't have to anymore, okay?"

"Yeah, but do you believe?"

"Seriously, are we standing on the street corner in NYC right now? Take this dollar and go on, Boo. I get where you are coming from and would love to have a religious discussion with you, but you should know, people are not cool with random questions about their religious affiliations. You know, just between you and me."

And I could tell, she was already praying in her head.

She already believed I was burning in Hell, but the question was, could she, as the daughter of such a heathen, be saved?

My standard answer to the question of "do you believe" is "suck it, none of your business, bub." But today,I had to be more delicate.

As she walked off to her room, as my kid stood still clinging and screaming, as I realized I was still holding the primary colored religious materials, as I looked down at the Buddha on my chest, I sighed and I looked up. "You are up there, aren't you? Some kind of sense of humor you've got, huh?"

10 comments:

Ginny said...

I. Loved. This. Religion is so seductive to kids. All the black and white, the definite answers. I mean, its seductive to some grown-ups, too, but the kids can sink their teeth into it like nobody's business.

Again, just a really great post.

Gypsy said...

This was so good. For some reason it reminds me of that scene from Saved where she's all, "I am FILLED with Christ's love" as she's throwing a Bible.

Ah, youth.

flutter said...

gypsy totally stole my comment! I was just about to say that I am filled with Christ's love, but hell. Now the moment is gone

Sarah G said...

"people are not cool with random questions about their religious affiliations" Heh heh, that was awesome.

Annabelle said...

Fantastic! I could literally see that scene play out.

Lisa..... said...

My daughter was like that for a little bit until the topic of gay marriage came up in the election. Now she's struggling with her uber Christian fam (the ex) and our liberal ways.

Now her family is praying for her.

Anonymous said...

This was an awesome post. Whats more awesome is that you're letting her figure it all out on her own. Seriously cool.

toriduck said...

I judge the christians/religious daily.as they do me..I don't get people and def don't get GOD. Question God? I do every day.religion seems to me like a blue light special. sad but true.

Not Afraid to Use It said...

What an amazing post. Sometimes you gotta shake your fist at the sky and laugh through your tears. Someone's got a sense of humor up there. No one will ever agree on who and what. Just arming your kids with the best info possible to live their lives and avoid the crazies is all we can do.

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