WHY?

It's a simple question..."why?"  Yet it speaks volumes.  Maaaaany years ago, I was loaned a book to read called "When You Ask God Why" (which was written by Dan Johnson - the dad of a friend of mine!)   It is a thin - very easy to read - book, which I highly recommend.   I really need to get my own copy!  There is an illustration in that book that I have re-played in my mind many, many times over the years.  It doesn't give an answer the question "why?", but it does provide a little insight.  Now, it has been almost 20 years since I read this book ( yeah - I was only 5 at the time -- I've always been an advanced reader...ha!), so the details may not be exact, but you can still get the gist.

Imagine that you are sitting in a movie theatre and the screen in front of you is covered by a big velvet curtain.  The lights dim and the curtain opens - but only a little bit.  You see what appears to be a mother, father and young child walking along a road.  It's snowing.  The parents stop every few feet to shake the child...slap his face a little....yet it is obvious that he is tired and wants to sleep.  "How cruel!"  you think.  "I can't believe a parent would treat their child like that - that's awful!"  You are horrified at what you are witnessing.  This makes no sense...why not let the child just sleep?  Why doesn't one of the parents carry him? 

Then -- when you don't think you can watch anymore -- the curtain opens to reveal the entire screen.  You see a car trapped in a snow bank.  It's getting dark.  It's obviously freezing.  The family is heading toward what appears to be a house in the distance.  Well now it makes sense! These people aren't out in the cold and snow by choice - they are trying to survive!  They shake their child and slap his face to keep him awake.  It would be dangerous for him to fall asleep in conditions such as this.  They aren't trying to harm him -- they are trying to protect him!

When the curtain was opened all the way, the pieces all came together.  Our perception was wrong.  That's the problem.  As Christians, we rarely get to see our "curtain" opened all the way.  We are shown only a little bit of the screen.  God is the only One who sees the whole picture.  Don't get me wrong.  There are times when our "why?" question is answered, but it might take weeks, months, or even years.  I have found that about 99% of the time, I don't get my answer and that is fine.  God knows the whole situation, and that is the most important.  Oh, I'm still going to ask why...and try to make my own assumptions....don't we all?  I just have to keep reminding myself that I can't see the whole picture - that maybe it is not meant for me to know the answer to the "why?"  It's okay for me to ask.  Don't all kids ask "why?"  (and as a mom is say YES!  I should know!)

There is no need to get into the drama leading up to these thoughts.  I've been thinking about this for a few days now, so I thought I would share what is on my heart.   Don't focus on the little bit of the screen you are able to see - your view is distorted!  Take comfort in the fact that there is ALWAYS a bigger picture and someone bigger than you is fully aware of what is going on "behind the curtain"!

Well..I'm wiped out!  Zachary & Josh are spending the night at my mom's, so that leaves my & the girls to spend the morning together (Charles has to work).  I feel "out of sorts" when I don't have all my little "chicks" under one roof at night.  It's a mom thing.  I'm so glad they all love to go -- they are NOT home- bodies by any means!  Like I said, it's just a mom thing.  What am I going to do when they leave the nest?   AAAAGH!