Spirituality, faith, and religion are simultaneously the hardest and easiest values for a person. Making some people cling to the one their brought up in, some branch out to try something new, and others lost in it all. All of it causing raising children in certain household tough. And while many families choose to instill the religions they were brought up with into their children, my husband and I have decided to be more flexible in letting our kids faith be their own.
My husband was brought up in a Catholic home and me in a Christian. Both of us experienced a wide variety of religious and spiritual traditions. Feeling blessed to have been given open minds by our families when it comes to our belief system. And we hope to give that to our children as well.
And while we don't attend church every Sunday or consider ourselves super religious, we do have our own faith in which we read our bibles every day and practice the values that we want to instill from it. Wanting to create a household that is open. To divinity, interconnectedness, and unknowability of life. While keeping in mind that there are some dangers that come with set religious traditions. We'll try to navigate the path between the two, always determined to make it work.
We want our house to be more spiritual than religious. Because I feel like spirituality has so many definitions over the more distinct one that comes with the territory of religion. That's why I like it. We want to be able to talk about thinking of others as well as being able to pray for them. We want to be open to the relationship between the physical and metaphysical world. And if our children someday have questions, we want to be able to answer them as clearly and honestly as possible.
We want our kids to explore, learn, and decide for themselves what works the best for them. While we, as parents, try to teach them to be understanding, kind, and open. Which I know comes with some judgment from others, but that is - if you will - our cross the bear. And I bear it willingly. Because I hope that it will create a level of openness that will allow our kids to find the best, happiest, and truest versions of themselves.
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