Walking the Walk

Last night at dinner, my 8 year old daughter asked me if it was illegal for a black person to marry a white person.   It seems that one of the children in her school told her it was illegal.  (Are you kidding me!  I know I live in the south, but for crying out loud this just blew me away.) She seemed very puzzled and a upset about this.   Probably because 3  families we love are interracial and I think she was worried they were going to get in trouble.  Steve and I assured her that it is perfectly legal and no one was going to go to jail.  We also took the opportunity to remind her that God created ALL people in HIS image and it was WRONG to not like someone because of their skin color or where they are from.  She’d heard that before, but it seemed a good time to remind her.

I’m really glad she asked us about this – otherwise she might have gone around thinking it was true and told other people, too.  As a parent it made me happy that she comes to me with her questions.  And it reminded me that she’s always listening and watching what I do…so I better be walking the walk if I’m talking the talk.  She’s never heard me say anything even close to a racial slur.  I abhor racism and stress to my kids that they need to get to know someone before deciding to be there friend.  But, what about my faith walk?  When times get tough, do I slip back into old habits or show my faith in God?  I better, because the older she gets, the more she’s noticing.