We always say that God broke the mold when He made Jackson. Our 20-month-old little marvel has taken us into unchartered territory as parents many times. He was our first baby to ever get a cold as a newborn and continually throw up all over his daddy every single time he picked him up for a week straight, our first to get up in the night at nearly a year old for a b-o-t-t-l-e (to which he still has envy in the nursery), and amongst many others our first to climb on top of the counters at a year and a half. His latest trend of repeating EVERYTHING has taken us to new and astounding heights however. When we ask him to do or NOT to do something he asks ever so sweetly Why? Apparently I’ve said the phrase so many times that today he answered his own question by saying Because!
Now I am one who speaks to our children like they are people…I always have. No baby talk here. Thus, people comment that our children speak at very early ages. I really have no frame of refrence for that because all of our children talk a lot…shocking, I know! So it’s only after I try to explain to Jackson that he may not stand on the door to the dishwasher because he will break it and he asks Why? a second time that I give in with my famous phrase. Because I said so! When I was growing up…after the age of approximately 3 years old I knew better than to even ask Why. My parents word was it…done…no explanation needed. The fact that he’s doing it so early baffles me.
Many people come to the conclusion that Jack’s curiosity comes from him mimicking his siblings. That is a very good possibility. Ever since he could move on his own or raise his voice in protest Jackson has demanded equality among his brother and sister. The persistence of this little guy from the get-go is off the charts. He needs an extra close watch or I am afraid he will end up really hurting himself. This is why I will keep him contained in a crib and stroller for as long as I possibly can!
In my recent conviction to simply rest in who God is I can only imagine His frustration with me when I have so often asked, or even wondered, Why, Lord? Isn’t the fact that He made me, He loves me and He knows what’s best for me enough? Aren’t the unending promises of His Word enough to satisfy my aimlessly wandering thoughts? How about the fact that He is in control and absolutely everything that happens is according to His will and purpose?
I once heard it described that if God actually humored us enough to answer our never-ending questions of Why that it would completely boggle our minds anyway because we simply cannot wrap our minds around the complexity of His plan which encompasses every living creature on this earth. If I asked him Why did this have to happen today…I’m running late already!? or Why do I have to suffer? or Why can’t I just be normal? (whatever that means). He very well could respond with something like Because Bill has to go to the store. Okay, well, who is Bill and why does he have to go to the store and what does that have to do with me? I don’t even know a Bill-? It makes no sense. EXACTLY! We simply cannot understand Why.
Sometimes our biggest downfall as human beings is thinking we need to know everything. In the age of Twitter and GPS and Google the world is at our fingertips. We can in less than 2 minutes of scrolling find out who did what with whom today and where they are and pinpoint their exact location as well as their time of arrival (scary), all of the latest headlines, local, national and abroad…someone’s latest craft or recipe experiment (and how it went over) with pics…who worked out, who skipped their workout to eat ice cream, who has lost weight, and who’s pants are too tight…what the weather will be like on Saturday, who won the game last night, who lives and breathes what TV show or football team, and how to’s, tutorials and stats for just about anything. No wonder people don’t think they need God…they have Facebook! What are we filling our minds with? Yikes!
Sometimes not knowing is okay…especially when you think about some of the things you learn on Facebook. The Lord simply tells us…even when we don’t know why…to obey Him and keep His commandments despite what our friends are doing, how we’re feeling, or who said what about or to us. Just like I have to constantly…and I mean constantly…remind Jackson NOT to climb on the dishwasher door or bang the silverware on the glass dishes after I set the table or run with his toothbrush in his mouth…my reasoning is sound. I know what is best for his wellbeing and trying to explain to him why every single time wouldn’t make sense to him…so is the same with God. Because He says so is simply enough.
Wonders of HIS Love 