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Annual Cicadas and Everyday Theology
Rich Theology Found in Everyday Moments
If you’ve spent more than two minutes with our family this year, I’m almost certain you’ve heard about the cicadas—the chirping cicadas our son carried around the bases during his last baseball game, the cicadas we found catching a ride on the Millennium Falcon, or the beloved pet cicada that became a snack for one opportunistic Labrador. Our youngest son is enthralled with cicadas, and thanks to the double brood emergence in Kentucky this year, we’ve had a whole slew of the large and strangely calm insects that somehow didn’t mind being captured, carried around, and played with all day long.
One summer afternoon, a dirt-covered cicada was spotted crawling out of the ground in our backyard. Our son delightedly picked him up and put him in our mesh bug cage, where we all gathered around to watch the annual cicada shed its final shell. The dusty insect shuffled around a little before settling in a good spot, doing a funny little dance slowly back and forth, then steadily up and down. Eventually, he stopped moving. We waited patiently until the back of his shell began to split open and his fresh, vibrant green body emerged little by little. Later, as we rushed to the car, I (Jess) casually remarked to the kids, “Isn’t it amazing that the cicada knew just how to come out of its shell without anyone there to teach it? God’s design is so cool!”
That offhand comment sparked a twenty-minute conversation about all the wonders God had created—our friend’s newborn baby that will someday be an old woman, tiny acorns that will grow into looming trees, and gathering clouds that will water and grow our watermelon vine. The kids were so excited and kept the conversation going while I listened in awe, realizing I had unintentionally spurred on a spontaneous and beautiful conversation about God’s created order and his good design of so many everyday things. That moment served as a reminder: Theology doesn’t have to happen in a classroom. It can start with a bug, a question, or a car ride, and grow into a joyful discovery of who God is and how he’s at work in everything around us. These moments present opportunities to show our children that theology isn’t a distant academic subject, but it’s the lens through which we see everything else.
Heaven
Devon Provencher
With colorful illustrations and words that are simple for kids ages 1–5, this book introduces essential biblical topics surrounding heaven and helps little ones understand the hope of a renewed world through Christ.
Watching that cicada emerge reminded us how naturally kids wonder about God when we give them space to see him in everyday things. Still, we know that for many parents (ourselves included), the idea of having “big, theological conversations” with your kids can feel intimidating. You might wonder where to start or worry you won’t have the right answers. While there is a place for catechism and intentional Christian instruction in the life of the home, we’ve learned that the richest faith conversations often happen in the most ordinary moments—and they don’t require a single hard-to-pronounce term. The word theology literally means “the study of God.” In practice, it can look like simply talking about who God is and what he’s done. That means doing theology with your kids can happen anywhere and anytime, whether that’s folding laundry, walking the dog, or cleaning up spilled cereal (again).
Building a habit of talking with your kids about God in the ebbs and flows of life doesn’t always come naturally or easily. Life moves fast with schoolwork, practices, meals to cook, and messes to clean up. It can feel impossible to slow down to talk about God in the middle of the chaos. Yet when we choose to be intentional, even brief moments can grow into something lasting. Over time, small, deliberate conversations can shape the rhythms of our homes and hearts.
As parents, we’re not just chauffeurs, cooks, and referees; we’re also our children’s primary disciplers. Deuteronomy 6:4–9 reminds us of the urgency of making God’s word central in the home, speaking truth in every conceivable situation. When we view the ordinary moments through that lens, our households become mini classrooms of grace, places where questions, curiosity, and even mistakes can become springboards for discovering God’s truth. Those conversations don’t need to be formal or forced. Often, they begin with our children’s natural curiosity, with their endless stream of “whys” and “hows” that invite us to talk about what God is like. Here are a few examples from our home recently:
Why did my friend have to move away?”
Some of our church friends moved away to take a ministry position in another state. This turned into a conversation about how Christians are called to share the gospel wherever they go. We prayed for our friends, thanked God for using them in new ways, and talked about how God may call our family to move someday too.
“What’s a nun?”
While discussing an older movie as a family, one of our littles piped up with this question. The query turned into a lesson about the Catholic church, Martin Luther, and the Reformation. While the phrase sola Scriptura didn’t make an appearance, they learned why having access to the Bible in our language is so important.
When theology becomes part of the everyday language of the home, children can begin to see the world through the eyes of faith.
Sometimes the questions are harder to answer, like when our daughter asked, “Why did God make my brother with special needs?” Even difficult questions like this can open the door to beautiful conversations about the brokenness of this world and our hope for heaven, where our bodies will be restored for all eternity. Every family’s rhythm is different, but the opportunities to integrate conversations about God abound. When theology becomes part of the everyday language of the home, children can begin to see the world through the eyes of faith.
So, the next time your child finds a cicada, or a rainbow, or a worm, or asks a hard question, take it as an opportunity to marvel together and talk about God. Those are holy moments, little invitations to wonder at the God who made it all. And who knows? That backyard bug might just lead to one of the most meaningful conversations your family has this week.
Devon Provencher is the author and Jessica Robyn Provencher is the illustrator of Heaven and other books in the Big Theology for Little Hearts book series.
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