A Big Step

Drew is making his First Communion on Sunday. Yesterday was his retreat. Shawn and I went with him and my parents came to our house to watch the rest of the crew. I was a little concerned because the retreat was for 5 hours and I wondered what activities we would be doing. Last weekend, he had his church scavenger hunt and he finally finished, 45 minutes after the last kid left. It wasn't because he couldn't find things, it was because he was so into it!!! I was proud of him, but when the priest even began to roll his eyes, I got a little nervous. So, we head to church and they start by setting up stations with activities. We got through the first few pretty well at a normal pace, but when we got to the station about finding stories in the bible, then reading them and answering questions, Drew put the brakes on! He wondered at every story, insisted on finding them and reading them aloud to Shawn and I, and then discussing them with us and adding his own commentary. For instance, when we got to the story about Jesus multiplying the fish and the loaves, I commented, before we read it that this was one of my favorite Bible stories because it was such an amazing miracle. Drew looked at the passage, skimmed it quickly, and then looked at me in disbelief saying, "the fish and bread one? Seriously, Mom? You're impressed by the fish and bread miracle??" I tried to defend myself and say that Yes, I thought it was a neat miracle. To this, he responded that he didn't really think turning fish and bread into ....MORE fish and bread was all that impressive. He even said, "I mean, as far as miracles go, Jesus, I guess it was great, but not really all that impressive". Ok--so I want my son to have opinions and to feel free to express them, but I'm not sure criticizing Jesus and his miracles falls in the range of acceptable! Overall, though it was a great evening and a good experience for all three of us. I only teared up twice--once when Drew wrote a paper that said his mom's greatest gift from God was her love, and once when I was laughing so hard at the expression on his face when he first tasted the wine. He sat back down and said, "I have to do that every week!?!" I know he is ready and I am hoping it is a beautiful ceremony that we can all enjoy. He even made a sign for the pew our family gets to sit in at the service. It has a picture of Jesus' face on it that he drew. And, even though it looks more like Cheech from Cheech and Chong, I'm sure Jesus appreciates the mention--especially considering that whole "fish and loaves" disappointment!