the boy who doesn't drink the koolaid

forging his own trail. colorado 2010

Where's the church, who took the steeple
Religion is in the hands of some crazy-ass people
Television preachers with bad hair and dimples
The god's honest truth is it's not that simple
It's the Buddhist in you, it's the pagan in me
It's the Muslim in him, she's catholic ain't she?
It's the born again look, it's the Wasp and the Jew
Tell me what's goin' on, I ain't gotta clue. 
  ---from a Jimmy Buffett song called Fruitcakes

I am blessed with a thirteen-going-on-forty-five-year-old who is more insightful than most adults I have met.  This kid has been trying to figure it all out since before he was born.  The problem with using your brain when you are thirteen is that it sometimes stirs up some controversy.  Go figure.  I always thought it was the other way around. 

What do we do when our kids question the path that is laid out for them? If the question is "do I have to get up in the morning and go to school," then that's easy.  It's the law, son.  But what if the question is about something less black and white, like say....religion?  Yep, I said it: religion.  For many, religion is the touchiest of subjects.  (For me, it's politics, but that's for another day).  So be forewarned that depending on your beliefs, this could piss you off.  Hopefully it will just make you think. 

Eighth grade is graduation year at our catholic school.  It's also the year of confirmation.  Confirmation for Catholics is the third rite of passage, or sacrament, after baptism and communion. It's like steps 1, 2, and 3 on the path to heaven.  It is when you confirm your commitment to the catholic church and to Christ.  This church also requires that the newly confirmed have a sponsor, someone who is also a confirmed catholic and knows the ropes.  It is similar to an AA sponsor, I suppose.  Someone to keep you on the right track, whether it be sobriety or the catholic path to salvation.  {Please forgive this non-catholic for my loose terminology.  I had to look this all up. I don't even know if I'm capitalizing correctly.  Thank god (God?) for spell check.} 

Confirmation is not a requirement for passing eighth grade, but who wouldn't want to do it after converting religions, receiving first communion, and attending five years of catholic school?  Yeah, that would be my thirteen-going-on-forty-five year old.   

Are adolescents able to make an informed decision about what religion to commit themselves to for the rest of their lives?  We pick our college major around eighteen and look how many of us still don't know what we want to be when we grow up. The issue is not his faith in God, or wanting to lead a moral life, or that he doesn't want to put "catholic" in the religion box on his facebook page.  The issue is his personal spiritual path.  His path is not mine, or his dad's, or yours. He seeks answers for what is right for him, not what is right for anyone else.  I love that about him.  Even if you have been a card-carrying member of one church your whole life, your path has surely evolved, and in the end, you made the choice to stay.

So does he get to choose his path? 

Hell yes!  (no, I don't believe in hell)

Peace,
Laura