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Dad, daughter, dog and
a. talk about God.

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Ann Arbor
n a cold night in
February, Gabby
suggested that
we take our dog, Sandy, for
a walk. Gabby, my oldest
daughter, is nine years old.
Sandy is a one-year-old goofy
Labrador who is always
up for a walk. I jumped
at the chance to get some
dad-daughter-dog time.
Somewhere, in the middle of our
neighborhood, we also included God
.
in our walk.
As we started from our driveway, we
noticed the constellation Orion up in
the southern sky. The stars were big
and bright. It was one of those cloud-
less evenings that lets all of the heat
escape from the earth's crust. So we
wrapped our scarves a little tighter
and pulled our hats down to cover our
ear lobes.
I think looking up at the heavens
prompted me to tell Gabby the story
of the first time she ever asked me
about God. She was five years old .
and totally caught me off guard. My
daughter is Jewish; I am Protestant. I',
tried to explain God in a way shared
by both Jews and Christians: there is .
only oneGod, God is everywhere, and
God is a loving God. I also recalled
stumbling over myself not to say the
wrong thing.
When I told Gabby this, she
laughed. Sandy looked up at us, and
then crossed the sidewalk to check out
a blue spruce. I asked her what her
.
impressions of God were today.
"He's a nice old man in the shape of
clouds — wispy, of course — looking
down on us from a bright blue sum-
mer sky. He watches over our every
step and helps us with our journey."
I coUldn't believe she said that. It
was so beautifulit's pretty much how
I've always pictured God, although .I
am certain that I. never explained it to
her that way. I've also been conscious
of not portraying God as any gender. I
had to ask her, "Why do you suppose
we picture God as a man?"
"I don't know',' she replied. "I think
some people see God as a woman.
He probably can look like whatever

0

he wants us to think
he looks like." I had to
chuckle a little to myself.
Despite our best efforts
to make God gender-
neutral, it just hasn't
caught on.
My curiosity over
Gabby's view of God
compelled me to ask her
more. Sandy still wanted
to see what was going on
over at thepark, so I had time."If we
know God is good, why do you think
bad things still happen?"
"I think to test us," she replied.
. Hmm. Not a bad answer. I thought
back to George Burns' line in the
movie, Oh God Book II, and added,
"I suppose you're right. How could
we ever know pleasure without pain?
Happy without sad?"
I. found speaking with Gabby
enlightening. It was a very touching
conversation. I. have another daughter,
Molly, who is six years old. I recently
asked her what she thought God was.
"One." she replied. That's it; that's all
she said. I thought this great answer
was just as illuminating — straight
from the Shema, but simple and to
the point. It's amazing how compli-
cated we adults can make things. I'm
glad I've got my daughters to help me
see the universe more clearly.
. As Gabby and I wrapped up`our
walk with Sandy, I had to ask one
more question: "Do you think that we
believe in the same God?"
"Yes, just different religions:' she
answered.
As a Christian dad raising Jewish
girls, it sure feels reassuring to hear
that. Turning back into our driveway,
my cheeks were frozen; but my heart
was warmed. ❑

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June 1 . 2006

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