Mary's Theology

Moving boxes are unloaded, unpacked, recycled and done with! Most of the “stuff” is hung up, pulled out, folded up, stored away, or crammed into another drawer. Home sweet home!

In light of my “fixing” up the new place, there is always this tension that naws at my heart. I want to have a place people can come to. I want to have a place that displays warmth and heart. I want to make it pretty. However, I know there are lots of dollars being spent to house me here, feed me here, and keep me here. For that, I’m so very grateful.

The tension is one that keeps me humble, gives me freedom and yet keeps me enslaved to the one thought: how many will know TRUTH for having had an encounter with me? As a Mom, wife, and girl with some creative juices … “fixing” up my home is one way I can help draw others toward TRUTH by using my home as a launching pad. I think I just settled some tension in my heart by just writing that!

This week began the Eislaufen Tag (Ice skating Day) at Libby’s school. Once a week, during the winter months, the entire class takes an ice skating lesson from their very talented teacher. I’m the official shoe tier and untier, skate tightener and scarf finder for the outing. Frau Bandera leads her little ducklings of 20 members on a good 10 minute walk to the nearby Eis Halle (Ice skating Center) while I bring up the rear.

There was a little girl, we will call her “Mary”, who had no walking partner, and so poor thing got stuck with me. Earlier, like just 10 minutes earlier, I was having a little conversation with the Father about my usefulness. I wondered how He might use me … today … tomorrow … here. I wondered what my helping 20 little Austrian 2nd grade kids could do for the Kingdom. Hmm.

While we are walking, out of the blue, Mary asks me, “Do you believe in God and Jesus?” I respond by telling Mary that yes, I do believe in God in Jesus. Before I can ask her the same, she rather proudly tells me that she does not. She then proceeds to tell me that she doesn’t believe in God or Jesus because they just don’t exist. She says that her “religion” is to believe that all things have souls but there is no creator. Interesting.

Again, Mary is a 2nd grader. She is full of facts that she wants me to know about. I ask her if she shares her beliefs with her Mom or Dad. “Oh yes, my whole family believes this way.”
Mary then asks me if I believe in Mother Nature. Wondering where my little non-believing in God companion is going with this line of questioning, I ask her if she believes in Mother Nature. Of course she does. Mother Nature gives all life to plants.

While wondering why she has picked me to enlighten with her concept of the world, I decide I’m gonna do a little enlightening of my own and tell her that I believe what the Bible teaches about creation, that a holy God made all things. This doesn’t stop my little walking partner. She tells me that the Bible, too, is untrue. “It is impossible to believe that God parted the Red Sea. Those are just stories.”

She’s good … got a quick come back for everything. She tells me she believes that there was a large volcano explosion that created the whole earth. Then, just one part of the volcano dropped down in a special way to form earth. Then, Mother Nature came along and created every living thing. (And the Bible is just stories!).

“So, Mary, who created the volcano?” I ask. No answer. After a few moments of 2nd grade brain activity she says the volcano just was there. “Hmm. Well, who created Mother Nature?” I ask. No answer. After some more 2nd grade contemplation she says … “You are so silly. Mother Nature creates herself.”

There you have it. Mary’s theology in a nutshell. Mary has parents who have done a masterful job of clearly imparting their worldview to their little girl. I walk away from the whole experience wondering if I have done such a job with my 2nd grader.

There you have it. The worldview of the culture I live in. A statement of no God, no truth, no need for a creator, no need to live a life guided by principles, much less a Bible.

It’s important for me to know that my desire to make my house “pretty” has a purpose. One day I know there will be people from my culture sitting in my living room discovering who this Creator is ... and why His word is important.

It’s important for me to remember that escorting Mary to the Eis Halle has a purpose, too.

Each day is an opportunity to rub shoulders with those who do not know TRUTH. Yesterday, it was Mary.