Grace asked tonight at dinner,,,"If God is in charge of everything, why does He want us to pray?? Good question, I thought. I remember asking the same thing at her age or a little younger. My Dad was always a great one for taking a child's answer seriously. Still is. He never felt a question was too silly. More importantly, he did not tell me "I'll tell you when you're older and can understand," or give me any sanctimonious tripe about taking life by faith and not questioning. While he modeled a life of faith, he always said, "the truth can handle any question you can come up with." I know he gave me a great answer back then, about God existing outside of time, and us being inside time, about the difference between knowing and controlling. And yet...
I realized my answer to that question is so different now that I am a Mama. I now understand, for instance, why parents play games with their children, hide Easter eggs for them, ask them to help make cookies. Sure, I could make the cookies myself, without waiting for a child to unwrap the butter, crack the eggs, and generally get their fingers into everything. If I did it myself it would be cleaner and at least twice as fast. But I would miss the companionship, the sense of wonder and accomplishment my children feel when they are part of the process, and I feel by sharing it with them.
Don't we parents love creating the mystery of the wrapped present, just so we can watch them open it?? I have learned that God hides presents for me, not from me, just so He can share the moment with me. To embrace our Lord is to embrace the life of mystery because He loves my childlike wonder in discovering everything He does is GOOD.
In His amazing wisdom, He deemed to submit the happenings on this earth to our connection with Him. It is why we pray without ceasing. Because we walk with Him and He like to makes cookies with His children instead of simply doing everything Himself.
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