Kids do the weirdest things and it must be credited to their insatiable curiosity and has nothing to do with what might be construed by some as their being naughty. Such was the case with a situation my daughter found herself in when she was about twelve.
I was a pastor and pastors are called upon from time to time to conduct funeral services as part of their duties to congregants. The service I have in mind was for a relative, an Uncle from my wife's side of the family. The service was conducted not in the church but in the chapel of a small funeral establishment in a small town near Vancouver. When I arrived at the Funeral Home with my family, they went into the chapel to be with other relatives and I was shown to a small office reserved for clergy to wait for the service to begin. Little did I realize that not all my family stayed waiting in the chapel. Shortly, a much displeased funeral director came into the clergy office to confront me. He had my daughter in tow.
"I would appreciate you taking control of your daughter," the man said, indignantly, "I caught her opening doors and peeking into rooms that are not open to the public. That is not permissible."
Other than childish curiosity, I had no idea why my daughter did what she did nor am I sure of what she was expecting to find. Picture it - a young girl sneaking up and down the hallway in, of all places, a funeral home. Watch her furtively glancing over her shoulder to see if she was being observed. She must have known that what she was doing was wrong. Perhaps she was expecting something to sneak up behind her, grab her, and say, "Boo!" And imagine her stealthily opening closed doors not knowing what might be behind them.
My daughter's behavior was totally out of character and I must admit that I was caught by surprise. I apologised to the gentleman and then asked my daughter, "What were you thinking? What did you expect to see?"
Unperturbed by the funeral director's annoyance, she replied, "I just wanted to see where they keep the bodies!"
I was a pastor and pastors are called upon from time to time to conduct funeral services as part of their duties to congregants. The service I have in mind was for a relative, an Uncle from my wife's side of the family. The service was conducted not in the church but in the chapel of a small funeral establishment in a small town near Vancouver. When I arrived at the Funeral Home with my family, they went into the chapel to be with other relatives and I was shown to a small office reserved for clergy to wait for the service to begin. Little did I realize that not all my family stayed waiting in the chapel. Shortly, a much displeased funeral director came into the clergy office to confront me. He had my daughter in tow.
"I would appreciate you taking control of your daughter," the man said, indignantly, "I caught her opening doors and peeking into rooms that are not open to the public. That is not permissible."
Other than childish curiosity, I had no idea why my daughter did what she did nor am I sure of what she was expecting to find. Picture it - a young girl sneaking up and down the hallway in, of all places, a funeral home. Watch her furtively glancing over her shoulder to see if she was being observed. She must have known that what she was doing was wrong. Perhaps she was expecting something to sneak up behind her, grab her, and say, "Boo!" And imagine her stealthily opening closed doors not knowing what might be behind them.
My daughter's behavior was totally out of character and I must admit that I was caught by surprise. I apologised to the gentleman and then asked my daughter, "What were you thinking? What did you expect to see?"
Unperturbed by the funeral director's annoyance, she replied, "I just wanted to see where they keep the bodies!"
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