The other day as I was working on my lawn, my neighbor Sarah walked up and engaged in some small talk. After we talked about her husband, Sam, and her son, Hal, she confessed why she had come over: “Fred, I know you know that I’m a Jewess, but would you mind if I asked you a question about religion?”

Seizing the moment

I had waited for this opportunity for years. Here was an answer to my prayers. A million thoughts screamed through my brain, and I prayed, “Lord, give me the words.” Sarah and I had talked many times, so we were comfortable with each other. But, during the eight years we have been neighbors, she had never asked about religion.

“Fred,” she said, “every time we see you and your wife drive off on Sunday mornings, we comment about it. Hal wonders where you go. I’ve told him you’re a retired pastor and that you go to church. The last time, he asked if there was somebody in your church who made you go, because you never miss. I told him you were a very spiritual person and that you went to church because you wanted to. Then he asked if only retired pastors were spiritual. I didn’t know how to answer him. So I said I’d ask you. Now you know that we’re Jews, but we don’t go to our synagogue much, so maybe I’m not as good at explaining things to Hal as I could be. I want to know if you think a person can be spiritual without being a Christian.”

When one is in a conversation with Sarah you do a lot of listening. That day it was like a kettle boiling over. The words just spilled out. When she stopped to catch a breath, I said, “Whoa, Sarah! You’re going too fast for me. C’mon, let’s sit down on the porch so I can relax, and let me think about your question.”

I added, “Let me get something to drink. I’ll be right back.”

I returned from the house with a can of Coke for each of us. I also had a paperback edition of the New Testament. Sarah looked at the little blue book as though it was a loaded handgun. I quickly put it down and out of sight.

Laying the foundation

We sat down on the porch steps, and I asked: “Sarah, how old is Hal anyway?”

“Six,” she replied.

“Where does he go to school?”

“Kraft Elementary.”

We both began to relax as this loving mother eagerly explained how her only child had so many questions about life, and we turned our discussion to her questions about spirituality and religion.