Johnny Appleseeds & Faith

“Dad,” I heard mumbled from the backseat. 

“Dad!” He repeated in earnest.  “I jus pooled my toof” 

“Are you bleeding,?” I wondered out loud

“A little,” he offered.  

“Then stop talking.”

“Dad!” Skipping straight to earnestness

“What now?”

“I jus pooled another toof”

We’re at that stage in the kids’ development where their bodies are starting to change unpredictably.  My boy unceremoniously pulled both of his final baby teeth in the backseat of my car.  The other kids wondered if the Tooth Fairy brought extra for two-at-a-time pullings and wondered why he didn’t wait to pull them on Christmas Eve, hoping for some cosmic collision of secret, nocturnal gift givers.  

After cleaning up his bloody ‘toof,’ my son asked me if he’d now get a mustache and when his Johnny Appleseed would come in.  I giggled at his innocence and sent him to bed.  

My boy understands that there’s a natural order to things (i.e., baby teeth come out before mustaches come in).  And yet he confuses ‘Adams Apple’ with ‘Johnny Appleseed.’  This is the nature of growing up, I suppose — learning the order of things, clarifying fictions (Johnny Appleseed) and facts (Adams Apple).  Growing up is messy and uncertain, even if inevitable.  His first few pulled teeth were a full-fledged production complete with tears and threats to tie a string to his tooth and the dog for a game of fetch.  And now, 21 & 22 teeth later, he’s taken his development into his own hands, literally.  And yet, he’s unsure of what it all means — what now? What next?

My faith has followed a similar pattern, balancing knowing with unknowing, certainty with unpredictability, being both confident in my ability while looking desperately for mentors to tell me everything is ok.  While I have more assurance than my son, I’ve come to believe that having all of the answers is as mythical as the Tooth Fairy. I believe this is why the Scriptures call us to a childlike faith (Matthew 18:2-4); a faith of innocence and earnestness, of humility and of learning.  

I pray that my faith grows along with my child.