"What denomination do WE belong to?"

"Do WE observe Ash Wednesday?"

"Do WE believe a person can lose their salvation?"

The questions I have been asking my family about what WE believe and do have been endless. I get asked if I am Pentecostal or evangelical, and I quickly text my family to find out. (We are apparently "evangelical/charismatic.")

This past week's chapel was an Ash Wednesday service. I called my mother that afternoon to try and figure out if we observe it. I have no memory of ever talking about it growing up, so I assumed we did not.

My dad recently told me, "Your mother and I believe that, but you are going to have to decide if you do." That was my first clue that I couldn't always call my parents and ask them about what "we" do and don't do because after a certain point, there is really no "we."

So, when do I start to make my own traditions? When do I decide to start observing Ash Wednesday even if my parents don't?

I think when you stop living in the same house as your parents, you are able to make your own traditions. This is not because what your parents taught you to do or what your family did while you were growing up is not right, but they were things they believed in. Find out what you believe in.

Next time there is a question about what you believe or if you wonder whether you should celebrate a certain holiday, don't call your parents. Think about what you believe and why. If you are old enough to be living on your own, you are old enough to make these decisions.