“Mom, I’m excited about … I’m not sure what. What am I doing later? I’m really excited about something, though!” my 13 year-old son Tristan said to me on the way to the grocery store today.
“I wonder if it’s the Holy Spirit. That can make you feel like you are full of joy but it’s not related to something happening in the external world,” I responded.
Tristan loves to get excited with anticipation, and although my husband and I share with him ways to stay in the moment and not get caught up in waves of excitement and disappointment, buzzing about upcoming plans is a familiar feeling to him. He was trying to make sense of the unfamiliar experience of joy for no apparent reason, but his usual m.o. wasn’t getting the job done.
I thought back to a recent conversation we had about encountering God. This is a challenge for adults, and an even bigger one for kids. We were on our way to Mass Saturday evening when Tristan complained that he doesn’t know anything about God. “He’s not even in time! How am I supposed to get to know Him?!” I agreed it’s a challenge, but suggested that when he is altar serving that evening, he might imagine that He is serving Christ and not just Fr. Matt, and ask God to reveal Himself to him.
I was in the meat aisle when I realized, “You asked God to reveal Himself to you, didn’t you? And now you are feeling His response, the Holy Spirit coming to you!”
He thought for a moment and said, “You could be right, Mom.”
I am always looking for opportunities to help Tristan encounter God and build a relationship with Him, without dumbing down the process or annoying him. Here are a few of the more fruitful methods God has shown me. I hope some of them might be useful to you.