Thursday, June 9, 2011

The conversation between two right brains.

I had a flashback the other day, a moment in which I remembered a conversation from many, many years ago. The memory was this: I was a young kid and happen to be mulling over the finer things in life, so I thought I'd ask my uncle something that had me stumped....

"Hey Uncle Ken, what's the very last number?" He informed me that there was no such thing. "Um no, you don't understand, what's the very end of the number line?"

He began to explain something about infinity. I wasn't sold. Furthermore, I function off one side of my brain ....and infinity isn't part of a right brain!!

I only understand beginning/end. Black/white. yes/no. good/bad. Infinity doesn't compute!!

So I asked again, confident that the issue here was his ability to understand my question (I mean seriously?), "No, I mean like 1,000...2,000....3,000....what's after all that?"

I'm sure at this point he was getting the picture....this girl has NO left brain, and therefore this mathematical conversation could take awhile. Like maybe a lifetime!

Fast forward to this past Monday:
While riding in the car, Ramiro heard a song on the ipod by Toby Mac that says "Be still and know that I am God." So he asks, "what does being still have anything to do with God?" So I break out my theological explanation of Psalms 46:10. I was sure he'd find it interesting that "know" in the Hebrew was in fact the word "yada" which translates to mean something that we can not fully understand, but we can intimately and deeply know. So he pondered that for awhile; giving me the idea that frequent Greek/Hebrew lessons would be a blessing for all of us... he's never been so quiet! And quiet time is much needed around this joint!!

A few minutes later he says, "Listen Mom, all I really need to know is this- who's belly did God come out of?"

Wha? How that had anything to do with the previous conversation, I'll never know. I was anticipating a question concerning "yada"....you know, something more concrete in nature. Nevertheless, I made an attempt to explain that he was never born, per se, but that he has always been. It sorta felt like trying to explain infinity, when you don't fully get it yourself.

"Mom, I don't mean that- I mean who's God's mom, you know the girl that had him in the hospital."
(aka: "Uncle Ken- I just want to know the very last number that has ever been invented....")

Some 10 minutes later, while trying to climb my way out of the "omnipresent, the God who is everywhere, has always been, the beginning and end...." blah blah blah... hole that I had dug myself into; I finally said, "Ramiro, I don't know, ask your Papa....he probably knows better than me."

(My apologies Dad! I'm sure the past 35 years has YOU more appropriately qualified for these conversations!)

He shrugged his shoulders and said, "ok that's a good idea." And that was that.
*mental note: try this first next time!*

I have never been so tired after a 15 minute conversation in my life!

And what was I thinking by trying out an omnipresent discussion to a 7 year old? Like I said, right brain only here. Logic is lacking, severely.

Somehow I fear that the difficult discussion was magnified because we had 2 right brains trying to discuss left brain material!! Dakota's response to the discussion affirmed my concern...."Mom, I'm not sure who makes LESS sense-you or Ramiro!"

Alrighty then. A lifetime might not be long enough!

1 comment:

Carrie and Mark said...

Ok... SOOO funny! Just what I needed right before my first final! I love every minute of it! I'll be laughing about this all day! Miss you all! xoxo