Meeting Jesus...at the Pool?!

If there's such a Guinness-type record on the weirdest things that can happen to a child, I reckon this experience of Luke's will safely make it on the list.

A couple Sundays ago, Matt took Luke out for a walk around the premises of our condominium. It was one of those rare, leisurely Sunday afternoons that you feel like you have all the time in the world, and Matt afforded the patience and pleasure to let Luke roam around the condo inspecting every speck of dust that came across his way. Finally, Luke decided to stop at the edge of the swimming pool and watch a resident swimming his laps. At last, the man finished his last lap and emerged out of the water, meeting a pair of inquisitive eyes staring straight at his face. Good-naturedly he smiled at Luke and started chatting with him. According to his accent, Matt surmised that he's from England.

Man: Hi young man, what's your name?
Luke: Hey Poo, my name is Pee....hehehehe (Embarrassingly, 'pee' and 'poo' are Luke's two recent favorite words to use when he socializes with other human beings. I know it's weird, and I do not beg your understanding since I, too, have no idea why they are such tempting word choices)
Man (chuckle): Oh, hi Pee, I am Jesus.

What the?! What on earth inspired him to give such an answer?

Luke was mesmerized - and confused. He stared at the man for a good long while, then looked up to Matt, thoughtfully in awe, and finally announced, "Dad, that's Jesus! Jesus is swimming in our pool!" Well, thanks to Luke's Sunday School, he has substantial knowledge to understand who Jesus is and that he's not just some Joe Schmo on the street, but somebody requires reverence and awe. Matt was speechless, and the man, seeing that he's on the verge on screwing up an innocent child, sheepishly and in vain trying to explain, "I'm just joking. I'm not Jesus. My name is Roger." Sadly I have to report that Roger's response only made Luke even more confused. To simplify this complicated situation, Luke's young mind chose to remain with his first impression, and came home running to tell me about how he saw Jesus swim in our pool.

The next morning during our quiet reading time, Luke brought up the incident again, though this time with an addition of his own interpretation of his monumental rendezvous. "Mom, remember yesterday we saw God in our pool?" I didn't hesitate to clarify that the man's name is Roger, that he made a very confusing joke to Luke, and that he is not God. But I did noticed that in his mind, Luke had already made the connection of "Jesus = God", and I'm pleased in amazement of how much stuff he knows and grasps already with his young intellect.