I walked our dog late last night, leaving LuLu in the backyard to chase fireflies and hunt for bugs. When I returned a few minutes later, I could hear LuLu’s voice coming from the neighbor’s back porch.

“What are you doing over there?” I yelled.
“I’m talking to Ms. Peggy, Mom.”
“Is it ok with Ms. Peggy?” I asked.
Peggy responded to the affirmative. Then LuLu responded,
“I’m telling Ms. Peggy about Jesus.”

I stood in the driveway and listened as LuLu’s voice grew louder and more determined. She was evangelizing Ms. Peggy.

Now you’ve got to know that from the day we returned home with LuLu we’ve attended the same Methodist church and have a strong connection with the folks there (they act as a literal extended family). You also have to know that we’ve struggled mightily with finding the appropriate place for LuLu at church, since she has trouble sitting through sermons, is problematic in the children’s programs, and is overwhelmed by large gatherings of people. You also need to know that no where has LuLu been explicitly taught how to evangelize or even directed that she should so insistently tell others about Jesus. Yet she often does.

The other thing you need to know is that we like our neighbors very much, but they are very agnostic in their beliefs. Early on Peggy told me about some problematic dealings with other neighbors who pushed their religious beliefs on Peggy’s children. Religion is something the rest of our family has never discussed with these neighbors (although our teen has included their teen in some youth group events). So here was LuLu sounding like Jimmy Bakker in their backyard.

Peggy and her husband continued to ask her questions, and LuLu answered quickly, and for the most part accurately about the details of Jesus’ life, the salvation message and even a side conversation about Moses, the ten commandments and the burning bush. At several junctures she stopped her sermon to ask:

“So do you believe in Jesus yet?”

When Peggy and her husband would respond in the negative, LuLu would say:

“But I want you to go to heaven when you die, not the other place.”

LuLu went on to clearly explain her belief that without faith in Jesus heaven was not an option. She was (and is) crystal clear on this.

I allowed her to continue on for a few minutes, listening to Peggy’s husband voice gain a tone of irritation (that LuLu, of course, would never pick up on). Then I called her to come home.

My head was spinning with thoughts and feelings about all this. First off, my heart is warmed that LuLu would be so sure in her beliefs and so willing to share them. But at the same time, being LuLu – obsessive, lacking social understanding – she was definitely beating them up with her belief and determined to hassle them for Jesus.

I also couldn’t help but wonder what was going through our neighbors’ minds. I’m sure they think we are some incredible religious fanatics that have scared this child into her beliefs because she doesn’t want to go to h*ll. Nothing could be further from the truth, but LuLu’s take on it all does include what happens if you don’t make the right choice. Her negative view of life makes h*ll a very real place in her mind. (Me, I wonder if LuLu hasn’t already lived through much more h*ll than most will ever experience.)

And I also couldn’t help but wonder if LuLu’s fervent determination on this topic is a prelude to her standing on the street corners as an adult yelling “REPENT” to passers-by.

LuLu was dismayed when I suggested to her that perhaps she had been hassling poor Ms. Peggy and her husband, and that Jesus didn’t hassle people into believing. She was confused that Peggy knew all about Jesus and the Bible stories but still said she didn’t believe. We talked about the difference between knowing in your head and believing in your heart. I’m never sure how much she understands about all these nuances.

Yet, there was such an innocent quality to everything she said that I suspect Peggy and her husband are still thinking about it all and wondering how LuLu can be so sure in her belief…and that may be exactly the point and the purpose

One thing’s for sure…there’s never a dull moment around this household!