On our way to lunch after church one Sunday, my family passed a neighboring Presbyterian Church. As we drove by, my mom pointed out the church as the place where our associate pastor was working for a little bit. She exclaimed, “That’s the church where our associate is filling the pulpit!” Without skipping a beat, my youngest sister asked from the back of the minivan, “Filling it with what?” My parents both broke down laughing and my sisters and I began to think of all the fun things that could fill the pulpit. Jellybeans? Donuts?
There is so much joy and wonder that adults miss, especially when it comes to curiosity and digging deeper into faith. Whenever I think about the role questions play in our faith, I often think of my younger sister. Growing up she was the wild child, the free spirit. In all honesty, this was, at times, infuriating as her Type-A older sister. But more than that, it was a true marvel to witness the way her curiosity led to joy.
When she was younger, my sister usually began her questions with the phrase, “I have a question.” Sometimes the questions were fun and caused great laughs like the time she wondered if God created dinosaurs and why they were left out of the creation story in Sunday school. Other times, her questions were serious, like “Why do pets have to die?”
As we have gotten older, my sister still asks questions and wonders about both the mundane and the extraordinary. It helps now that there is a new generation of children with our niece and nephew. The way they ask questions reminds me of my sister all those years ago. And there’s something that comes alive when she and the children spend time together.
The questions they ask seem to hold humor and honesty within them. Like the time my nephew was confused about seeing a rainbow when it hadn’t rained. Or the time we took them to the zoo, and we got to see a surgery of an injured monkey. While we were observing the operating room, my niece asked why human doctors worked on the animal. Didn’t they have animal doctors to work on animals? My sister and our niece and nephew have their own language as they explore and ask questions and seek answers together. There’s something in the way that she fosters that wonder in them and allows them the space and safety to ask their questions, no matter how absurd they sound to all the rest of us.
While she is now an adult, my sister’s joy is still alive and an active part of who she is. I still marvel at her and that wonder she holds. And when she calls and has a question, she will still use the statement, “I have a question.” Which leads us down various paths and journeys.
If you’re like me and find yourself as a Type-A personality who has a hard time diving into wonder and exploring the questions of life and faith, I hope that you have a person in your life who awakens that wonder in you. I hope they challenge you to stop and think and wonder about life and do so in a way that allows your childlike wonder to come alive. Because when you have that, it allows you to experience and view life differently. It allows you to dive deeper into the joys of wonder and curiosity. And you learn about yourself and life in a new way.
