God, Santa, and My Kid’s Existential Crisis at 9:00 AM

You know how people don’t talk about those taboo topics like religion and politics? Yeah, I feel that way about talking religion with my kids. Not because I don’t believe in something greater – I do. But I want them to make their own decisions about what they believe. I’ve introduced them to church, we’ve said some prayers, they’ve seen me, and I’ve talked about God with them a bit. But when it comes to how they see the world, I want them to explore it on their own.

At least, that’s the goal.

Jaden (6) looks at it from a scientific perspective, while Jax (5) and Joshua (8) are a little more…into the whole religious thing. I’m all for it—whatever they believe in, I support.

So this morning, as we’re driving to school, Jax hits me with something that makes me realize how deep his little mind really is.

“When I see God I’ll be a baby.”

“Oh, you will?” I ask, trying to keep it together.

“I am scared to be that ’cause it’ll hurt really bad when you cut my cord off again.”

“Buddy, I promise I won’t cut your cord off again.” Me – truly hoping they don’t cut a cord off at Heaven’s Gates.

“Does God have a world or is his world our world?”

“Well, I don’t know what I’ll do in Heaven, but I am going to color with my friends ’cause my friends will be there ’cause God helped them and got them out of the sleigh. He saved them.”

“The sleigh?” I ask, completely lost at this point.

“Yeah, like Santa Claus. God is like Santa Claus, right? ’Cause he can hear and see us?”

“……” Me, amazed by his knowledge and how he relates the two.

“God is only in Heaven, right? Not on our Earth? Well, is it his Earth? Is he here?”

“I know I’m going to be in Heaven in 90 years.”

I mean, wow. What the #%£¥? 

It’s crazy, though. Kids are insanely intelligent. Jax has pieced together this entire concept of God, Heaven, and even Santa all on his own. And it’s beautiful.

No one gives kids enough credit for how deep their little minds can go. They aren’t just absorbing everything we tell them – they’re forming their own ideas, their own beliefs, and their own worldviews. I mean, with no pressure, Jax is already thinking about life, death, and the afterlife in ways that are just…pure.

I mean, this kid is the definition of pure. I love that his belief system isn’t just handed to him – it is something he’s creating himself, based on what he sees, hears, and feels. And honestly? I couldn’t be prouder.

I’m excited to see where his little mind takes him, and what he believes when he’s older. Whatever he believes, I’ll support it with all my heart.