Chapter 10 - What we want

As I was getting ready to head out the door this morning, Taylor said "yay, Daddy is getting ready to leave." When I asked him why he said yay and he said, "because when you leave, we can do what we want."  I talked to them a little more about it and talked to them about making good choices while I was gone.  Ultimately, all they wanted to do was watch a movie, but felt like they couldn't turn one on until I left.

As I headed to work, I thought about the interaction.  The more I thought about it, the more I wondered how often we are like that with God. We want God to "leave" or "turn His back for a minute" so that we can do what we want to do. 

The more I have got to know God, the more I understand that God is not out to keep us from doing what we want to do, but rather He is out to protect us and is trying to help us keep from destroying ourselves. I also know that sometimes some of our wants are not bad in and of themselves, rather we have attached some sort of negativity to them based on what we have been taught or perceived. 

I don't think God wants to be perceived as someone who stands in the way of our desires. I think He wants to be perceived as someone who can see beyond what we see and has a bigger plan and knows what is best for us.  I certainly don't want my kids to be excited for me to leave so that they can do what they want, but rather to understand that if I don't want them doing something it is actually for their own good and because I can see something better for them.


It still amazes me how much my kids help me learn and understand about God.