I can remember when my children were at the age when they were so full of questions that it would seem there was no end to the “WHY?s”  Some days I would get to the point of just saying, “ask your Daddy when he gets home!”

“Why, why, why?!”  It reminds me of a movie in our library of Munton classics.  We have several movies that we have watched so many times that we often use quotes from them in everyday life.In one of my favorite scenes of Anne of Green Gables, Anne (who often has trouble controlling her tongue), is anxiously listening as a new teacher introduces herself to the class.  It’s the teacher’s attitude that captures Anne’s heart:  Miss Stacey says to the class, “I hope you pepper me with questions!”

Not only did Anne of Green Gables become a family favorite, but our oldest daughter, Emily, actually picked Prince Edward Island as the place she wanted to go for her 8th grade trip with Grandma and Grandpa.  They decided when their first grandson graduated from 8th grade that they would start the tradition of taking each grandchild on a special trip to anywhere they wanted to go in the United States.  They always tried to tie the trip in with mission work, finding a local church or missionary to work with during the time they were there.  I LOVE that they wanted to invest in their grandchildren this way.

I teach a class of 6th graders at our church, and LOVE IT.  Every year I give them an opportunity to take home an index card and write down any question they want to ask; any question that has to do with God, the Bible, or life application.  When I first started doing this, I was somewhat amazed at the questions, but over the years I’ve come to realize that by the time these kids are 11 and 12 they are asking some of the same questions that many adults in our society ask:

These are actual questions on index cards from my 6th graders:

“If people ask ‘How do you know God exists?’  What do you say?”

“Why do good people have bad things happen to them?”

“How can God take people to heaven if everybody sins?”

“How do we KNOW if we are going to heaven?”

“If a kid dies, do they go to heaven if they are not saved?”

“If you kill yourself, do you go to Heaven or Hell?”

“How do we know that the Bible is the real truth?”

“How do I know God’s will?”

“Why does God let the devil do bad stuff?  Why doesn’t God destroy the devil?”

I LOVE the fact that our God does not want us to be confused.  And I love pointing them to scripture to show them God’s answers to their questions.

In spite of what the culture says, God does give us answers to life’s toughest questions.  He promises us over and over in His WORD, that if we will just SEEK HIM, WE WILL FIND HIM!

I am challenged by my kids, and absolutely LOVE it when the “light bulb” of understanding lights up their face.  How much more our Heavenly Father must delight in us when we search for the Light of His Truth.