Yesterday was SuperBowl Sunday and we spent the afternoon with George’s sister and some friends at George’s parents house. Before church while I was sitting on the floor in the big kids’ room helping Anika get her tights on, I told the kids we were going over to Auntie Masha’s to go watch the football game. Not being sports fans, this is something of a novelty.

Trinity pondered this for a moment and then wanted to know if that didn’t mean the football players were working on Sunday and if God gets mad at them for working on the Sabbath. Naturally, I deferred the question to her father who had just walked into the room. I typically deflect these types of questions to George for a few reasons:

1. I want the kids to think of him as the Spiritual leader of our home, and if I answer all the questions they’ll assume I’m the authority on Biblical topics.

2. I answer all sorts of weird questions all day. It’s good for him to get a few and then I don’t have to think about it…. (yes, lazy, I know).

3. He always has clear, concise answers that he presents well to the kids and that make sense to them. My answers tend to be much more long-winded and warble around a lot.

4. I like hearing his answers.

Anyway, George told her that not everyone believes like we do and that it used to be that hardly anyone worked on the Sabbath and that stores and things weren’t even open on Sundays. Then he pointed out that some people have to work on the Sabbath like policemen and firemen and hospitals have to be open. Georgie was listening too and realized that these professions were protecting people and figured that they got an exception.

Georgie also noticed that getting out of bed in the morning is work (yes, you poor nine year old, you), but that that’s ok. Trinity was pretty quiet through this whole conversation, but clearly she was thinking. After Georgie’s observation about getting up in the morning, she added that “we are allowed to gather grain on the Sabbath, so that’s ok.”

In case you were wondering, George and I have not gotten around to teaching the kids Old Testament case law yet, so I’m assuming she learned this in Sunday school, in which case I can only say “Wow!” Our church’s kid’s Sunday school program is pretty thorough! All I learned in Sunday school when I was a kid was, “Jesus loves me, this I know.”

Actually, I think that was pretty much the main point of every sermon in the church we went to when I was young too (before Dad started Reformation Bible Church). Slightly repetitive after awhile…. Makes me glad that we’re going to Reformation Covenant Church and that the kids appear to be actually learning something. Georgie got a 94% on his final test in December. I don’t remember my Sunday school classes growing up having any tests at all….

Rachel

Written by Rachel Shubin ~ Fiendish friend for effusive fun!