What is a W-O-M-B?

     I always asked a lot of questions.  I was such an intense little girl.  My mother hated it when I asked too many questions.  She felt like I was putting her "on the spot" or cross-examining her.  My dad loved my questions. However, when I was looking for a 30 second answer to a math problem, he wanted to give me the 30 minute or 3 hour version.   He wanted to make sure that I really understood all the details and history of the question and not just be given the answer.  I guess I liked to ask questions more than I liked to listen to lengthy answers.   The court room model suited my attorney cross-examination style just fine.
     I cannot say that my husband and son like my questions either.  They feel like I am probing when I am just trying to understand.  Love is a lot about listening I have come to understand.
     When I was a young girl more than 50 years ago, I was reading the Bible out loud to myself.  I loved to read orally.  My mother and father were in the other room and not paying attention to me.  I was reading Luke 1:31. God was telling Mary that she would conceive in her womb.
     "Mommy, what is a W-O-M-B?" I said.  
     "Where did you see that? What are you reading?" my shocked and flustered mother said.
     I felt like I had done something awful. When I said that I was reading the Bible, she tried to regain her composure and gave me an answer.  I learned that some questions evoked some very powerful emotions and were upsetting to people.  Some subjects were taboo.
      Did she think I said "B-O-M-B"?
      Times have certainly changed since this happened.  Today's little children know many words and ideas that I still do not know about or understand.  Today's child still asks a lot of questions that give us the most incredible "teachable moments".
       Questions are probably one of the most powerful teaching tools.  They reflect the desire and need to know.  They reflect the thoughts of the mind and passion of the heart. Information is so much easier to receive  when it is asked for. When a child is asking for a dialogue, a lecture does not work. Sometimes the best answer is another question. A question may be the answer.
       Pay attention to questions that you are asking and that others are asking.  The questions may tell us more than the answers.  Questions show motivation and may create a an opening to the window of the mind.
       When I asked my W-O-M-B question a long time ago, I could have learned about God's miracle of Christ's conception instead of what not to ask.