Age of Innocence

When my Mom asks me to watch or read things on the internet, I generally expect us to have conflicting views and reactions to its content. My parents are devout Southern Baptists, and I consider myself an agnostic. This fact causes them pain and anguish over the fate of my soul, and though they respect me by giving me space, they sometimes ask me to read or watch certain things pertaining to Christianity. Today was one of those days, Mom had received an email with a link to a video of a two year old Asian girl singing, "The Lord's Prayer." I agreed to watch it and found myself having an unusual and very emotional reaction to the child and the words she sang. As a two year old girl, she was merely repeating a behavior she'd had a favorable reaction to, probably so much so that she sings the song willingly, every chance she gets, to receive the attention and praise. My point is that even though she sings the words over and over, time and time again, she does not understand their meaning, as the words to "The Lord's Prayer" are too difficult for a child to understand considering their limited experience with life and death. So when the child sang the words, "deliver us from evil," I suddenly and without warning began to cry. It struck me how beautiful it is and how very temporary that this girl sings "deliver us from evil" without having any clue, any remote idea of what evil even is. The word evil meant no more harm to her than the three words that precluded it, "deliver us from." What a phenomenal concept, to not know evil and to never have experienced it. This girl's eyes gave away her innocence, and it moved me.