Religion as Choose Your Own Adventure

I wasn't raised in a church. Sunday was that one day my parents had off together for years, and instead of church, my mom usually made a big breakfast and then we would go outside. My parents would take the dogs and load up my dad's old cars, a Jeep Wagoneer, a Land Rover series 2 88", a series 2 109", an Volkswagen camper bus, a brown Chevy Beauville van... We would pack up and go somewhere. It was usually near town, and it usually involved some kind of hike. It also usually never involved another soul.

This was the path my parents chose, their way of communing with a higher power on the day reserved for it. The higher power wasn't God, it was Nature, the arguably more powerful of the two in the relationship. But, we learned to be humble in Her presence, regardless.

I don't do that with my kids as often as I'd like, but times are different, money is less expendable, and my vehicles aren't nearly as cool. Still, my kids learn about space, and they explore town. They are learning humility their way, which is important.

The point is that we can build these things into incredible gifts, tool boxes for people to grab coping skills from. We can build these ourselves. There are many templates, but God/Nature/The Universe is universal. Build yours.