Why God Says We Should Have the Faith of a Child

Tonight as we were eating dinner I read out of our Advent book. Granted, this is no easy task - eating and reading at the same time. However, the silence around the table is totally worth the lukewarm food.

Tonight's story was of St. Lucia and boy, oh boy did the eyes get wide at the tale of her demise. When I finished the story, I put down the book and the questions ensued.

Tender-hearted Dawson chimed in first. "Mama, did they really kill her?"

"Yes, bud, they did," I said, hoping this would not drive him to tears.

"Why did they kill her?" Aiden asked on the heels of my response.

"Well, a long time ago," I explained, "people were very afraid of Jesus and the power that he had so they made it against the law to believe in him. If they asked you if you believed in Jesus and you said yes, they would kill you."

"Really?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Well is she in Heaven?" Dawson wanted to know.

"Yes, indeed. She is a saint in Heaven," I assured him.

"So," Aiden said as I saw the wheels turning, "she is a saint because she died?"

"Not exactly. She is a saint because she was a holy woman who died for Jesus. We call these people martyrs."

"Okay," he said with a big smile, "I want to be one of those."