In raising my children, I’ve never taught them any specific Religion. I raised them to be polite, truthful, helpful and loving children. To respect People, Animals, Nature and Life, as most major Western religions teach in one fashion or another.

I wanted them to find their own truth, their own beliefs, not to have me as a parent directing or forcing them.

And if someone was mean to them, to try their best to understand that it wasn’t anything about them. Anger comes from an unhappy heart.

When my children saw someone being bullied, I wanted them to step in and say NO! (or go quickly and get an Adult.)

We travel a lot and meet many different kinds of people and try to observe their beliefs. Our little town where we live is filled with the inhabitants of many different cultures.

Suddenly, at an age of thinking, reasoning and questioning everything, Olivia and Max became aware of life in a different, more determined way.

We had a small fire in our house, not long ago, and after a year many “life bumps ” my tired mind said in a self- pitying way (I don’t like self-pity parties),

“I don’t think God loves me!”

I thought I was alone with those words in the room, when I suddenly hear my daughter (11 years-old) say behind me,

“Why wouldn’t he, he created you!”