The Kiddy Pool: Parenting in the Big Picture

Last updated on: September 11, 2012 at 10:05 am by Erin Wyble Newcomb

The Kiddy Pool: Parenting in the Big Picture 2012-09-11T10:05:41-06:00 Erin Wyble Newcomb

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Every week in The Kiddy Pool, Erin Newcomb confronts one of many issues that parents must deal with related to popular culture.

My elder daughter received The Big Picture Story Bible as a gift from her godparents (fellow CAPC writer Carissa Turner Smith and her husband). The book, written by David Helm and illustrated by Gail Schoonmaker, is beautiful, complete with vibrant images and simple, poetic text. As the title suggests, the book is filled with bright, big pictures, and it also follows the “big picture” of the Bible itself — the ongoing relationship between God and His people and the continuing revelation of God’s promises. I love the way the text condenses Scripture into its kernels of truth like “Isaiah reminded them that God’s forever king would come from the family of David.” While these simplifications are for the audience of children, they work as reminders for me too that lots of analysis doesn’t necessarily mean lots of truth. Sometimes the work of understanding God’s promises is pretty simple, and reading with my toddler helps me approach the Bible with fresh, childlike faith.

I’ve taken to leaving the book out on the ottoman, which serves as our child-friendly coffee table, and my daughter asks my husband and I to read from it throughout the day. Scripture is woven throughout our day because she finds the book and the stories appealing and interesting, and we’ve already worked our way through from beginning to end (and back again) several times. We were reading about Adam and Eve this week, and the text says: “Now Adam and Eve had a choice to make. They could obey God’s word, or they could listen to Satan. What do you think you would have done? Do you know what Adam and Eve did?” At this point, my daughter does know what Adam and Eve chose, and she knows its consequences from prior readings of the book. So when I asked the question “What do you think you would have done?” I was surprised to hear her say she would disobey too.

I know that she understands the language of choices and obeying, since we use those regularly to talk about discipline. But in our reading, I was looking for her to give me the “right” answer, the one where the readers learn from the story’s characters, and she was giving me the real answer. If nothing else, reading the rest of the text shows that my daughter’s answer was much more honest than my “right” one. Again and again, the people of God disobey, turn away, and suffer the consequences. I do think God’s people are supposed to learn from our history and our prophets, but the reality is that we still disobey and still turn away. One of the most poignant reminders of Scripture is that God does not forsake us forever, that God forgives, that God longs for relationship with His people even when we push Him away.

With my answer, there’s no need for Christ, because I’ve got the story figured out all on my own. Nothing could be further from the truth. Where I approached the text with “right” answers, my daughter approached it with humility and truth. Most likely, I would have disobeyed just like Adam and Eve did, and there are lots of situations in my life where I realize I did just that, and chose to disobey God even as I knew better. My grown-up faith saw only right answers and wrong answers, but my daughter’s child-like faith saw truth and wonder and the beauty of God’s love for us even when we fail to get it right again and again. And that’s a big picture that any parent can appreciate — the unconditional love that draws us back to One who knows our faults and cherishes us as His own anyway.

Previous Post

September 11, 2012

God and Country Music: The Avett Brothers' New Album is out Today!

Next Post

September 14, 2012 Sacred Space: The Church vs. Naturalism

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asides Elsewhere Featured Film Games General Culture Headline Literature Music Of the Moment Podcast Politics RetroPost Sports Technology Television Uncategorized Viral

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz