God Shuts the Door, or Not.

Even though we are a God-fearing household, there are times when any one of us has doubts. My five-year-old has had several recently, and despite singing Sunday School songs throughout her playtime, she insists that God is not real.

She is very different from me, as I simply accepted my mother's explanations of God's love, and never questioned it until later in life. Little Miss, however, throws out statements like "God is not here," and, "He didn't make everything," all of which are direct opposites of what we've been teaching her.

You have to understand that through all of this I see a little inquisitiveness, a little childish rebellion, and quite a lot of humour.

We have watched the movie "Evan Almighty" together as a family, and have explained that although it is not entirely correct, the movie represents the story of Noah's Ark in the bible. So when we actually read the story from the bible, we pointed out the differences:

One difference is that God himself shuts the door of the ark, not Noah or his family. My daughter looked up as I read this, with interested eyes.

So the next day she was helping me unpack the groceries from the van, and I could hear her talking aloud. As I stepped into the kitchen she turned to me, with her arms full of groceries, and said, "I told you God is not real! I asked Him to shut the door for me and he didn't!"

"You can't boss God around," I said, "but if you want Him to show himself, he's going to do it the way He wants. You sincerely ask Him to, and He'll do it."

She looks up at the ceiling, says, "Show yourself, God," shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head. In a five-year-old world you get about 3 seconds to prove yourself, or all deals are off.

I am sure God can handle it, though, and is smiling at her, as I am.