This spring I’ve been creating a “faerie garden” for my 7.5 year old daughter, Allie. It started off by cutting vines and pulling a ton of creeping, crawling ground cover. We’ve created several entry ways into the secret garden and a table made out of logs and a board. It’s becoming a secret hide away for Allie and I love to see and hear her play
As I worked in the faerie garden, Allie and I talked about what faerie liked and where they lived. We watched the Tinkerbell movie and built a faerie house out of an oatmeal container.
The other day while Allie and I were in the faerie garden she asked me, “Mom, are faeries for real?”
Whenever a kid asks me a great but tough question my first response is often affirming, “That is a great question!” My response buys me at least a few seconds to formulate some type of answer.
After a moment or two, I responded to Allie. “I believe in miracles. . . I believe that God does miracles and sometimes we are so busy that we don’t notice what He is doing. When you come back to your faerie garden and are quiet and pay attention, I think you will see things that other kids are too busy to notice like a faerie.”
The Spirit, part of the trinity, is present and working in “Mysterious Ways,” but often I am too busy to notice. If there is one gift I desire for my kids and our wwKids to learn, it is to pay attention - to notice, to be aware, to be still and quiet - so they can see and experience God presence.
Don’t be afraid when your kids ask tough questions about God or life. It’s OK to say that you don’t know the answer. Most of the times there are no right or wrong answers but it gives us an opportunity to share and teach what we do know, what we have personally experienced with God the Creator.
When Allie and I were in the faerie garden a bug was fluttering around. I noticed the movement of the wings and asked Allie, “What it that? Is that a moth or a butterfly?” She looked closely at the fluttering and said, “Mom, it could be a faerie!”
