A Parenting Moment

When I was in college, I had a professor who said that if you can simplify a concept enough to explain it to a kindergartner, then you really have a good grasp of the essence of that concept. For example, how do you explain grace or righteousness to a child? You must really know the essential components to that particular concept and be able to explain it in language plain enough for a 5 year old to understand.

Well, yesterday I had an opportunity like that. Recently, there has been a bit of talk around here regarding the upcoming presidential elections. We've all been working to register to vote absentee and there's been talk of candidates, voting, etc. Yesterday, on our way to the postoffice (which we found closed, of course, because everyone knows that the post office closes for some reason on Tuesdays at noon- except me, of course) Hannah asked me, "Mommy, what is voting?" So, as I tried to explain voting, I had to also define candidates, democracy, what a president is, etc. After we got through all that, the question came, "Mommy, how do you know who to pick?"

Well, for me there's a very simple answer to that question. Abortion. It's the very first thing I ask of anyone who wants my vote. It was one of those moments when, as a parent, you ask yourself, "Do I really want to answer this question honestly, or should I give an easy answer?" No doubt, there are certainly times when you must do the latter. Sometimes Hannah's not ready to know the answer to the questions she asks, but yesterday, I think she was.

So, asked her, "Hannah, have you ever heard the word abortion?" As the words came out of my mouth, I was shocked by the immediate sadness that overtook me. Maybe it's because I carried her inside of me and helped give her life, maybe it's because I knew that what I was about to tell her would be very difficult for her to understand or would change the way she looks at the world. For whatever reason the sadness was overwhelming to me. How do you explain to a child the depravity of such an act? As simply as I could, with as much composure as possible, and in as G-rated language as possible, I explained to my 5 year old daughter the horror of abortion. She asked me why people do such a thing, how they do it, what happens to the babies and more. It was a very difficult conversation, but one that I want her to have with me and not with someone else later on down the road.

The questions that fell from her mouth are the same ones that many of us adults ask as well. "Mommy, that's so mean. Why can't they give the baby to someone else?" To her, it just didn't make any sense, and really, it doesn't, unless you understand and believe in the innate sinfulness of man.

Moments like this hit parents out-of-the blue, usually when you feel least prepared. No one tells you that kids ask the most difficult and simple questions with such an abundance of ignorance as to the depth of the depravity of man. No one tells you that you must be prepared for these kinds of moments...you just have to be on your toes all the time.

Thank you Lord for your grace to us in showing us the Truth and please help our little ones to see the very same thing. Lord, please protect the lives of the unborn.