Confession 101

I'm trying very hard to keep religion and politics out of my blog. After all, the point was for it to be about my kids. BUT, this is indirectly related to them (and it is still MY blog), so I'm going to post about it anyways.

Last night I made my first confession. I am married to a cradle Catholic and have since given birth to three more. We have baptized all of the kids as Catholics and I agreed to raise them in the faith even before we said "I do." Originally, I wanted to become Catholic (by going through the RCIA program) for them, the kids. I have always been a Christian and as such, I have A LOT of questions about the Catholic religion. Luckily for me, we have a priest who is willing to put up with all of my inquiries. Sometimes it's really not fair that people who were born into the faith don't necessarily have to "believe" everything that they put forth but those of us who come into it as adults have to at least reconcile what we already believe with what they teach. I'm really grateful that I have a bunch of great "classmates" in RCIA who are going through the process with me. They've made a big difference! And they seem to appreciate the fact that I'm not afraid to ask questions. At all.

My mom grew up Catholic and all of her siblings still are. My dad's family on his mom's side are also all Catholic. BUT I grew up following my dad's dad's religion. We attended a Swedish church and it was enough for me. And what I'm learning is that really, truly, it is enough. Even Catholics have learned to believe - or at least accept - that. I'm glad, because that helped me to make peace with this whole process. It will be a little bit odd when we baptize our next baby because I'll be able to be a somewhat more active participant - or at least I'll understand a little bit more of the how's and why's of it all. I no longer question whether this is the right decision for me (it is) and I no longer question if my motives are pure (they are). The fact of the matter is, my relationship with God IS changing, but it's not getting more "Catholic", just deeper. And for those of you who aren't Christian, I just want to make it clear that being one? doesn't make you somehow superior or less likely to screw up. So cut us some slack. We're only human.

As for my kids, now I feel more qualified to answer their questions (although, "Who's stronger, God or Jesus?" still stumps me).

**Note: I realize this is my 100th post and I'm supposed to do something - like 100 things about me - so I'll get to it. Also, I enjoyed my ice cream yesterday! It helped to keep the good memories in the front of my brain!