So, I’ve mentioned I’m not a big church fan. But I liked the first Unitarian church I went to…even though the drive was far. It was less like church and more like a religious discussion group…because the congregation was really, really small and everyone could raise their hands and give their opinion on what the ‘paster’ had been talking about. My kind of church…I’ve got an opinion for ya, right here!
Anyway…I had to stop because they were just terrified to use the term, God, for fear of upsetting the delicate sensibilities of the California Granola crowd (you know, fruits and nuts and flakes). I thought that was pretty wimpy and if you’re going to have unusual beliefs you shouldn’t be wussy about them. But I’m a girl and cute and who’s going to beat ME up about!
Plus I was looking for a place that would help me teach my kids about God without ‘converting’ them. Not an easy task. I went to a Foresquare church that my wonderful friend Trish went to and it was great, except for the parking nightmare, the Sunday School gamble on IF they’d have enough staff for all the kids, and the fact that the music and the sermon always made me bawl my eyes out. I want to connect with God but I’d rather not end up doing it so intimately IN PUBLIC!
But the kicker was when my oldest went to the ‘real’ Sunday school and not just the daycare version. I was worried because he’s just a little over-sensitive to the oddest things that others might wonder, “what the Frick!” So on that first day, when I go to pick him up, he bounces over to me to tell what a great time he had and as I scoot him ahead of me a woman touches my arm.
“Excuse me, are you Luke’s mom?” she asked. I’m thinking…shit…what did he do, did he lose it? I admit I’m her, ready for the explanations of his mild autism but she says.
“I just wanted you to know that Luke accepted Jesus into his heart today.”
Okay…now I’m truly baffled. How do you handle that? I’m sure others would jump for joy…but I wasn’t so normal. My first thought was…just what did you do to convince him to do that! Are you piling bullshit into his overly susceptible head that’s going to warp him for life? Warping him for life is MY job, dammit. I could only mumble an “Oh, okay” and hurry after Luke. I did allay my fears with heavy questioning of the boy…but everything seemed innocuous so I treated it as a little cute joke.
Then next Sunday as I pick up Luke a different woman comes over to me and says, “Are you Luke’s Mom? Luke accepted Jesus into his heart today.”
Well the words popped out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“Yeah, he does that every week.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the shocked look on her face. Oblivious Asperger’s – 1, organized religion – 0