My son, Ethan Olinga, who is ten years old now, was sung to during pregnancy…
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When in Bahá'í history
My son, Ethan Olinga, who is ten years old now, was sung to during pregnancy and early months of his life as I fed him, just as the Master says mothers should. He was also exposed to the photo of the Master and always encouraged to have an independent relationship with him. When he was around 2 1/2 and could not yet speak, he woke up from his nap one afternoon, and in a rather dazed way looked around his room as if he was looking for something. He then ran and grabbed his photo of Abdu-'l-Bahá, ran back to me and kept pointing to the picture, repeating the Farsi word 'Nour.' We had never taught him the word, and never said any such word in relation to the Master. Our conclusion was that he must have dreamt of the Master who must have mentioned something about nour/light to him. He is a staunch Bahá’í now and a very conscientious and sensitive young man. Those who know him well have always commented on his relationship to the Faith and asked what we might have done to encourage him to love the Faith and all we have done is just pray with him and provided him with plenty of books on all religions and stating to him over and over again that he must study everything and decide for himself when he is 15.
Source: Tahirih Danesh, email to compiler
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: parenting).
Discuss this story
For adults
- Read the closing lines once more. What single phrase stays with you?
- What does the setting of this account contribute to its meaning?
- If you were to share this story aloud at a devotional gathering, which sentence would you read first?
For teens
- What is one quality you'd want to carry forward from this account?
- Which line in this story surprised you the most?
Reflection
- If you could bring one quality from this story into your next conversation, what would it be?
- Is there someone in your life who would be helped by hearing this story?
- Where in your own life are you being asked to practice faith?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "My son, Ethan Olinga, who is ten years old now, was sung to during pregnancy…" drawn from?
What period of Bahá'í history does this story belong to?
Which historical figure is featured most prominently in this story?
Which virtue does this story most clearly illustrate?
Cite this story
Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/parenting
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