God.s Snack
On Sunday mornings, Bean and Gracie go to their own nurseries while Chris and I go to “big church.” Up until Gracie was five or six months old, we brought her to church with us because I was nervous about leaving her with the nursery girls. She was just so tiny! But since then, she’s been in the nursery on Sundays. We’ve brought Bean to “big church” on special occasions before, like holidays or when we have family visiting with us at church or if the choir was doing a major performance. Anything that we thought would keep his attention. But, for the most part, the kids are in the nursery.
Today, though, our church served Communion and so right before they started that part of the service, I slipped out and went to get Bean from the nursery. Chris and I have talked before about how we thought he was old enough to start receiving Communion with us and today just seemed like the right time to start.
At our church, Communion is given once a month and everyone is invited to attend. Growing up, I remember my parents letting me have Communion from as early as I can remember. As a Christian, it is a very important symbolic act to me. It makes me feel connected to God through his son’s sacrifice and, while I want Bean to come into a relationship with God on his own terms and in his own heart, I want to give him the opportunity to feel at home and comfortable in the church by showing him the customs and traditions we practice. That was how it was in my family. Religion was never forced on me. It wasn’t a requirement. It was just an environment that my parents continually exposed me to so that I came to feel comfortable and at home in the church. Years later, in college, when I began to simultaneously grow in my faith and question my faith, I could go through those thoughts and struggles within the context of a place that I felt comfortable and safe in. As a parent, I think that’s the best we can do for our children. I want Bean to know that Christ and the church are where I find my strength, and I want him to see the importance of that in my life. But then I want him to make that commitment to faith for himself.
I pray every single day that both my children make that commitment for themselves.
We haven’t really done too much up to this point to introduce God and Christ to Bean. We sing the blessing before we eat, we say prayers together at night, we watch Veggie Tales, and occasionally we talk about Bible stories.
Actually, when I write it out, I guess that’s not too bad. But what we haven’t really gotten into with him is the Christian doctrine (to the extent that you could do that with a two-and-a-half year old). We haven’t really talked about what we believe. I just don’t feel like Bean can understand the abstract ideas of religion yet. So, instead, we focus on things that he CAN understand.
Communion this morning was a perfect example. When I brought Bean into the “big church,” we stood in the narthex while the minister prayed over the bread and grape juice. While he prayed, I held Bean and whispered in his ear what was happening. I said things like, “Do you see that man in the robe? That is one of God’s best friends and he is going to give us a snack today.” I told him that the snack was a gift from God because “God loves Michael.”
I told Bean what it was he would be eating – bread and juice – because I wanted him to know what would happen when we went up front. Then I pointed to the Communion rail (where we kneel in our church to receive the Sacrament) and told him that we were going to go up front there to the rail and then we would sing our blessing before we had our snack. When Bean understood what we were going to do, we went to the pew and sat down until our row was able to go up front. He does better in situations when he knows what’s going on and what he is supposed to do next.
When we got up to the Communion rail, I knelt and Bean stood in front of me with my arms around him. I held my hands out for the bread in front of Bean and he copied me. When our minister came along (who, by the way, is one of the sweetest men I have ever met), he put bread in my hands and then a little piece in Bean’s. I whispered into Bean’s ear while we waited for the juice to come down the rail, “This is our snack that God is giving us because God loves Michael and God loves mommy.”
“And God loves Daddy and God loves Gracie,” Bean whispered back.
“Exactly!” I whispered.
When the juice came, Bean was super excited when I gave him his own little cup, but I told him we had to sing our blessing first. Normally, before I take Communion, I pray a prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of his son and for his presence in my life. For Bean, that equates to a blessing. So, that’s what we did. Very quietly, Bean and I sang our family blessing right there at the Communion rail. Then, we both took Communion together.
When we stood up from the rail to go back to our pew, Bean happily wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then announced very loudly to me, “Mommy, I want more snack!”
I’m sure I turned three shades of red in front of the laughing congregation, but inside I was praying, “Dear Lord, please keep his heart hungry for you.”
28 Comments
Sarah@Crazy Love Gamble-Style
What a very special moment, thanks for sharing with us : )
Stephanie@Our Marriage Adventure
I love how you explained what was going on to Bean. His heart is so clearly open and truly soaking up the juice that is God’s story. Definitely an inspiration as I continue to search for the church that will allow my husband and I to raise our children up in our faith.
Holly
What a sweet first communion! I like how you explained it to him. Fostering that environment of safety and provision will really help him understand God and His Son! Sweet memory for yall 🙂
Amy
Oh Katie, this just made my heart smile! Being a little further down the road of life than you (married almost 18 year, three kids 13, 11, 8) I can tell you that you’re putting down a great foundation. You might be surprised just how much Bean understands even now. My 8 year old daughter was diagnosed with cancer just over a year ago now. Her faith and understanding of just how much God loves her has been inspiring! She’s asked the hard questions about dying from cancer and come to her very own conclusions about how God’s love fits into that equation. Religion has never been forced on her either; yet she has developed a very real relationship with Christ. Praying with you that Michael and Gracie grow up to hunger for the Lord.
Chelsea
What a cute story and what a great way to introduce Bean to the church and your faith. If I was sitting in church and heard him say he wants more snack, I would silently chuckle too 🙂 How cute!
Maryellen
In the Catholic church, we do not receive Communion until the “age of reasoning” (age 7-10, depending) because we believe that it is the actual body and blood of Christ transformed for us. I always take one of my children up to receive Communion with me and they usually receive a special blessing. A few weeks before Christmas, I took my now 2.5 yr old up to Communion with me and she screamed, SCREAMED because she wanted “minion” She even said, “Claire eat too, please!” Talk about heartbreaking!
Megan
Thanks for sharing! Such a cute story and a good reminder to keep our hearts hungry for Him.
Ally Garner
My heart absolutely melted reading that, Katie. Thank you for sharing such a sweet story. It just makes me think of Matthew 19:14 “Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Amen. Blessings to you & your sweet family always.
laurenbtrain
love love love this post. thanks for being an example 🙂
Stephanie
This post was great! You are doing a great job of introducing Bean to how great the Love of God is!
Cindy
What great blog post Katie! We just moved to a new community and the church we joined has a great new children’s minister. The minister does a great 1/2 day conference for parents on the “spiritual vision for you child”. She talk about having family time at home daily in which we worship with our children. Help them to learn bible verses, and many other things. I think being the spiritual leaders for our children is one of the most difficult tasks but one if the most important ones.
Tabitha @ From Single to Married
What a sweet post. And good for you for teaching your children your faith early on. I’m Mormon and we, too, are trying to teach our little one about God and Jesus and faith, etc. It’s not always easy because you don’t know how much they’re getting, but I’m willing to bet that they understand a lot more than they let on. 🙂
Ashley @ A Recipe for Sanity
That is so beautiful, and so inspiring to me. I love your take on the importance of Christ in your family’s life. 🙂
Kat
This is so touching! In the Northeast (as you probably know) Church and God aren’t as….what’s the word I’m looking for…popular? When Jon and I found out we were pregnant, we looked for a Church in our town that would fit us (Jon’s an ex catholic and I grew up in Communism…so no religion was allowed). We found a great Christian Church in our town and joined, even went almost every Sunday until Peanut was 4-5 months old and started crying and having separation anxiety. Needless to say, we haven’t gone as much as we want since. I hope that in the next couple of months the separation anxiety fades and we can start back up.
Sarah H.
Such a sweet post Katie. Natalie is 7mo and we do prayers at night (most nights) but I need to get in the habit of a blessing before we eat. We keep Natalie with us during service because even though we have a nursery she’s the only baby (congregation is about 90 people) and everyone LOVES her so much that the one time I put her in the nursery everyone kept asking where she was! I’m so glad you’re working with Bean and showing him the Christian Faith! I wasn’t raised in a religious household so I’m often thinking of what I can do to help share the love of Christ with my child(ren).
Lindsay (Young Married Mom)
I love that Bean responded about Chris and Gracie! Likewise, I think my son is about the holiest person I know. He’s only 16 months, but he gets a whole lot. It amazes me. I second Ally on the quote from Matthew. I’m Catholic, so Communion is different for us, but prayers and God’s love is the same!
Alicia
So sweet! I grew up Southern Baptist, but converted to United Methodist a few years after my husband and I married. I also got my “snack” from God yesterday and I adore how you explained that to Bean. I am sure that Bean is understanding far more than you realize. My pastor has been doing a sermon series out of the “Jesus Storybook Bible” and it would be great for reading to Bean & Gracie out of. It’s a childrens bible, but is wonderful for adults too.
Calypso
“It was just an environment that my parents continually exposed me to so that I came to feel comfortable and at home in the church. Years later, in college, when I began to simultaneously grow in my faith and question my faith, I could go through those thoughts and struggles within the context of a place that I felt comfortable and safe in. As a parent, I think that’s the best we can do for our children.”
many thanks for showing us newbies the way. I didn’t grow up in a Christian house so I’m usually at a loss on how to train my children up in this way. Please keep talking about this subject. Thanks so much.
Josey
I love love love loved this post!! It’s exactly what I hope to do with my daughter someday…
Grandma
Everyday, you and Chris make me so proud that you are mine.
Jennifer@browneyedandblessed
such a sweet story. Like Maryellen, I’m Catholic so we do communion every Sunday and children don’t make their first communion until 3rd grade (usually) so hearing different ways different churches do things is neat.
Nancy
That is really sweet. Thanks for that perspective. My oldest daughter is 3.5 and I’ve always taken her (and her baby sister) to temple with me when I visit my parents, and sometimes we go to a Friday night service in our own neighborhood but I’ve been wondering lately how to step up the meaning for her. She makes up Hebrew words and is comfortable there but I don’t think she really understands what we are doing when we go. Thanks for the inspiration.
Katie's Mom
To Amy: Your comments touched deeply. So true that we may never know how much our children are absorbing, but your daughter shows us that its more than we realize. Lifting your family up in prayer for healing and healthy days ahead.
Erin R.
This is one of my favorite posts of your’s!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
jenny-bird
That’s wonderful that you want to share your faith with your children. The world is full of so many possibilities that children need to be guided until they become sure-footed enough to step out on their own. As long as you are willing to be open and engaged with them, I believe they will be open and engaged with you. (P.S. I love the new Romper Room picture. So sweet!)
Jessica
This is truly one of my favorite posts of yours, Katie. So very well written and I’m impressed with how much can be taught and shown at such a young age. In the church I grew up in (or maybe it was my legalistic parents) communion was off limits until you had been baptized. I often wonder if I would have made the decision to be baptized sooner if i was able to experience this expression of God’s love at an early age instead of thinking I needed to become “good enough” for God. Lord, keep us all hungry for you.
Lindsay Campbell
Love this post, made me tear up! 🙂
Holly, your biggest (not fattest) fan
so sweet. your kids are super lucky to have you.