Why We Were Late for School: A Conversation About God

This morning, as I was helping my son Teddy get ready for school—packing his lunch, looking for his missing shoe—he hit me with a big question:

“Mum, why don’t we follow a religion?”

It wasn’t what I expected over breakfast, but it stopped me in my tracks. Because honestly, it’s a question I’ve asked myself many times too.

I told him I haven’t chosen a religion because I don’t believe any one is better than another. At their core, most religions stand for the same things: love, service, kindness, faith, community. The names are different. The stories are told through different lenses. But that’s true of everything in life. That doesn’t make any version more right or wrong—it just makes them human.

Stories Through Different Windows

I tried to explain it to him in a way that made sense to both of us. We talked about our last day on holiday. I remembered feeling grateful and full of joy; Teddy remembered feeling sad and disappointed that it was ending.

We lived the same day—but we experienced it differently. Our emotions weren’t right or wrong. They were just our own. That’s how I see religion too. We may be looking at the same sky, but from different windows.

Then I told him something I believe with my whole heart: it doesn’t matter who tells the story, or which names are in the book. What matters is how it makes you feel—and how it inspires you to treat others.

What Faith Means to Me

When you strip religion back, most of them share the same foundation: a belief that we were brought here by something bigger than ourselves. That we are here to be of service, to take care of one another, to build community, protect the earth, and grow into the best versions of ourselves.

The buildings we worship in? Just bricks.

The labels we put on faith? Just language.

The real meaning lies in the values we live out.

I told Teddy that as a family, we don’t separate people by religion. If someone’s faith gives them comfort, belonging, purpose, or a sense of family—that’s what truly matters.

I also explained something I remember hearing when I was younger: the phrase “In God we trust.” It doesn’t mean we all trust in the same God or follow the same religion. It means that in our darkest moments, we hold onto hope.

That’s what faith is. And faith is universal.

The Stillness in the Noise

Before we left for school, I paused and asked him, “Do you think maybe God is more symbolic?” He nodded slowly.

I told him that maybe God represents safety and stillness in a world where we often feel powerless. That’s what I believe: that the idea of God helps us feel grounded, especially when life gets hard.

And I reminded him that when people argue over religion, it's often not about faith at all—it’s about fear, power, greed, and control. It’s people, not belief, that twist something pure into something painful.

The Real Message

And isn’t that the great irony? Religion is meant to unite us—in community, in pride, in shared purpose and love. Yet it’s often used to divide.

I told him I wish more schools focused on the similarities between religions instead of their differences, maybe the world wouldn’t be so afraid of faith.

No one chooses where they’re born or what they’re born into.

We all come into the world the same way.

We all leave it the same way too.

Right on time.

So yes, we were late to school this morning.

But maybe we were right on time for a more important lesson.

“The truth isn’t in the name we give to God
—it’s in how we treat the people we meet in God’s name.”