Several years ago I was teaching second grade. If the kids had been good and all that day’s work was finished, they could have some free time at the end of the day. Most of the time they were given about 10 minutes to draw, read, talk quietly, color, or do a jig-saw puzzle. On this particular day I was sitting at my desk sorting papers and keeping an eye on what the students were doing.
There was a small group of students who liked to sit in front of my desk. I noticed that their voices were getting a little louder – not yelling – but emphatic. I began listening to the conversation to find out what was so important. Here’s what I heard.
Girl 1: God does have a wife!
Boy: No, he doesn’t!
Girl 2: He has to!
Boy: No, way.
Girl 3: Then where did he get all us kids?
Boy: (pausing) I don’t know, but he doesn’t have a wife.
If he did, where is she?
Girl 2: She just got fed up and left!
Girl 1: With so many kids – I can’t blame her.
Boy: (getting up and walking away) Girls!
As you might imagine, it was hard for me to keep a straight face. I think about that conversation and laugh even after the many years that have past. I think about the childlike wonder that went through the minds of the kids that day. I had a great imagination as a kid, but I don’t remember ever wondering about God having a wife. I admired their thinking, their creativity.
When I think about that conversation now, I realize that children today have a new sense of what constitutes a family. Yes, their words at that time were humorous and downright funny, but sadly they reflect the notion of the disposable parent. In their young eyes even God’s hypothetical “wife” could simply walk out on the family. Too many kids have lived with the repercussions of a missing parent. That is not humorous.
That conversation will remain one of my favorites. I truly admire the boy for standing up to three girls in such a heated discussion. I don’t think there was a definite winner to the argument that day. It’s up to the parents to decide who wins.
