The other day Allison brought a cup home full of dirt, with a piece of plastic wrap over the top and a rubber band holding it tightly in place - she said it was a plant they had made in school.Tammy and I took off the plastic wrap and set it on the counter, but Allison quickly protested, "No, you have to leave the thingy on the top."
Now Tammy and I (having years of experience in gardening) assessed the situation and determined that since the dirt was almost touching the plastic wrap, there was no possible way it was meant to remain on the cup once it made the dangerous car ride home.
So much for deductive reasoning...
This morning Tammy called me to tell me that the plastic wrap was supposed to stay on - some sort of project to teach the greenhouse effect and that the condensation building up inside would help the plants to grow (I guess it didn't really matter that there was no room for a plant to grow - it was more about the lesson learned and the fact that it would probably be in a landfill before long...)
Sadly I thought back to Allison's simple protest and the look of uncertainty in her eyes. Now I feel bad and I have a lot of explaining and apologizing to do when I get home tonight.
Since it never works out that I'm right and God's wrong, the only spiritual lesson I was able to learn from this little situation was related to the way we feel when we try to share our faith. It's that feeling you get when the Truth you love and cherish is not loved and cherished by the other person. Or when they "intellectualize" it and deduce that faith is simply (scientifically) not possible or necessary. I think I feel just like Allison in those situations - sad that they do not understand the truth that is right in front of their eyes.
Oh that the smart people would give it up to find the Truth!
