Parson To Person
#16 - An ongoing 'imaginative/non-fictional' series.
Just before I left the office I decided to give Robin a quick call.
“The doctor says a procedure called a laparoscopic-section will take care of it all. No need for chemotherapy or radiation or anything like that. The surgery is set for Monday. A day or two of recovery and I’m good as new! Isn’t that great? I’m sure Sarah told you, my doctor is a Christian and prayed with me right there in the room. God was there with us. I’m sure of it.”
I celebrated the answers to our prayers with Robin for a few minutes. As our call came to an end I told her I’d likely see her at the diner. She responded, “Well, if not, I’ll definitely see you at church Sunday.” I revisited that statement in my mind as I hung up the phone. God is at work in her life. I’m so thankful to be witnessing this.
That afternoon Dani and I went on our Home Depot paint expedition.
As they mixed the paint she wanted, I imagined her room, looking like the walls were rusting (a horrible orangish-brown color called ‘Spice’). She was thrilled. We looked at border paper. Then we grabbed some color samples for trim. I convinced her that we should wait to buy trim paint until after we see what the walls look like‘rusting’.
We stopped for a sandwich on the way home.
“I’m bothered by something you said to me last night. You said that you didn’t think I’d like your friend Renaldo because his family is Catholic. Honey, what would have given you that idea?”
“Well, just the whole Protestant / Catholic thing”, she said matter-of-factly.
Before I could inquire further, she continued, “You’ve got a book on a shelf in your study that says Roman Catholicism is a cult. That’s what you think, isn’t it?”
Not sure of the book she was talking about and stunned that she paid any attention to my library, I attempted to answer her question with a question, “Well, what do you think?”
“No, Dad. Don’t make this about me. We’re talking about your views on Catholicism. What I read in that book doesn’t seem like the way Jesus would view Renaldo’s family. You know that I am a Christian. I don’t agree with your book. I think Renaldo’s parents are Christians. Renaldo? Well, the jury is still out on him. He says that he is because he’s been confirmed. We’re still talking about it. I’m sharing the gospel with him.”
I sat there in shock. Of course I was thrilled that my daughter had taken all of this much more seriously than I would have imagined. I was also at a real loss for an answer. What do I think? I imagined the voices of my college and seminary professors in chorus: “What do you mean asking yourself ‘What do I think?’”
Just before I left the office I decided to give Robin a quick call.
“The doctor says a procedure called a laparoscopic-section will take care of it all. No need for chemotherapy or radiation or anything like that. The surgery is set for Monday. A day or two of recovery and I’m good as new! Isn’t that great? I’m sure Sarah told you, my doctor is a Christian and prayed with me right there in the room. God was there with us. I’m sure of it.”
I celebrated the answers to our prayers with Robin for a few minutes. As our call came to an end I told her I’d likely see her at the diner. She responded, “Well, if not, I’ll definitely see you at church Sunday.” I revisited that statement in my mind as I hung up the phone. God is at work in her life. I’m so thankful to be witnessing this.
That afternoon Dani and I went on our Home Depot paint expedition.
As they mixed the paint she wanted, I imagined her room, looking like the walls were rusting (a horrible orangish-brown color called ‘Spice’). She was thrilled. We looked at border paper. Then we grabbed some color samples for trim. I convinced her that we should wait to buy trim paint until after we see what the walls look like‘rusting’.
We stopped for a sandwich on the way home.
“I’m bothered by something you said to me last night. You said that you didn’t think I’d like your friend Renaldo because his family is Catholic. Honey, what would have given you that idea?”
“Well, just the whole Protestant / Catholic thing”, she said matter-of-factly.
Before I could inquire further, she continued, “You’ve got a book on a shelf in your study that says Roman Catholicism is a cult. That’s what you think, isn’t it?”
Not sure of the book she was talking about and stunned that she paid any attention to my library, I attempted to answer her question with a question, “Well, what do you think?”
“No, Dad. Don’t make this about me. We’re talking about your views on Catholicism. What I read in that book doesn’t seem like the way Jesus would view Renaldo’s family. You know that I am a Christian. I don’t agree with your book. I think Renaldo’s parents are Christians. Renaldo? Well, the jury is still out on him. He says that he is because he’s been confirmed. We’re still talking about it. I’m sharing the gospel with him.”
I sat there in shock. Of course I was thrilled that my daughter had taken all of this much more seriously than I would have imagined. I was also at a real loss for an answer. What do I think? I imagined the voices of my college and seminary professors in chorus: “What do you mean asking yourself ‘What do I think?’”
1 Comments:
:)
How often I hear my seminary profs, my old pastors, my Sunday School teachers, Summer Conference speakers all speaking in chorus to me!
I thought I was the only one!
D--
By Higher Up, Further In, at 2/14/2006 9:35 AM
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