Musings from an 8-yr-old

Well, to tell this story I have to start with the 10-yr-old. My nephew Zach is having his First Communion this weekend. This is a big thing in our denomination and tomorrow he has a 6 hour class to prep for it.

This week my sister bought him a new Bible cover - it's pretty cool...looks like a football with NFL on the front (New Found Life). He loves this and has been intrigued to read the Bible now...even in the middle of beauty salons while he waits for his sister to get her hair cut.

It's pretty cool, though my sister thinks it's a little humorous. He's reading Genesis and said to her the other night, "Did you know there was a kid named Er?" He kills me. So, being the OT major that I am, I directed him to one of my favorite passages (which is best read in the New Living Translation, because it's just more fun):

2 Kings 2:23-25
23 Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, a group of boys from the town began mocking and making fun of him. “Go away, baldy!” they chanted. “Go away, baldy!” 24 Elisha turned around and looked at them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of them. 25 From there Elisha went to Mount Carmel and finally returned to Samaria.

Zach was a little shocked that these kids got mauled by bears, but as I told my sister, this is a good lesson in not making fun of people because you never know when you'll get angry mama bears (NRSV) sicced on you.

But this is not the story I was going to tell. So Zach has First Communion this weekend and the other night he asks his parents what's in the little cups. My sister says that it's wine. "Really? It's wine?" he asked. My sister confirmed and my niece Emmy says, "Duh, Zach." She's so smart. :)

Quickly my sister notices that he's a little perplexed. She asks him if there's something wrong, he says yes. So she says, "What's wrong?"

Zach said, "Well, I'm not supposed to drink until I'm 21."

Emmy says, "Gee, Zach, it's just a little swig."

That's my girl! And now my sister knows which child will be giving her gray hairs early. Too bad my bro-in-law is almost bald already. He doesn't have much left to lose.