Only Child has been asking me the same question for weeks and I don't have a good answer. By smoke and mirrors, I keep being evasive because he still thinks mommy know everything. I don't want to burst his bubble for as long as possible. And, its sweet to be looked up to like that.
The question is, "Mommy, why does God make thunder? Why mommy?"
Then I say something like, "God made everything. Just like he made the sun and the stars and you and me. So God wanted there to be thunder and he made it."
Then he says, "But why? Thunder is so loud and scary. Why did God make thunder?" (There have been variations, like, why did God make mosquitoes that bite?)
So in a way, I guess he's asking me why God made thunder the way he made it. He's God, couldn't he have made thunder more like a rainbow and mosquitoes more like butterflies?
I have a few questions of my own. Why are life lessons learned by sadness and loss? Why can't they be taught to us in a classroom at Disneyland while we munch funnel cakes and corn dogs and never get obese? Why is there illness and heartbreak and poverty and all kinds of painful things the little guy knows nothing about?
Why do we put so much value on time and money when people and relationships are the real treasure? Why is faith so difficult when its so much harder to run on the alternative fuel? Why am I so often blind to the obvious? What purpose does guilt serve in anyone's life?
Why does my kid ask so many hard questions? Asking lots of questions is my game. Maybe I'll teach him to turn his curiosity into something productive like sarcasm.
How am I going to keep up this know-it-all charade? Clearly I know much, much less than a fifth-grader. I can barely work a DVD player, so how am I going to convincingly answer his questions when he becomes a teenager?
Why is thunder so loud and scary?
Posts
7 Bottles of Wine for $45 Shipped: Limited Time
3 weeks ago
4 comments:
I will keep up the charade as long as humanly possible. I remember the day I realized my parents didn't know everything and it was heartbreaking. LOL SO, I tend to answer those questions with a spin:
Kid: Why does God make thunder and why does he make it scary?"
Mom: "Well, remember when you threw a fit this morning?"
Kid: "Yeaaaahhhh.....?"
Mom: God created the thunder to remind us that he knows everything. He made the rain to remind us he made the flowers and trees and they need water. He made thunder to remind you that you can get scared and still need mommy and daddy. So next time you think about throwing a fit....remember the thunder that comes along with it. Mommy may get tired of fits and go live with the thunder. Then who will you run to when you're scared?"
It confuses them enough to 1) stop asking questions and 2) hopefully not throw a fit that night.
It is hard to think of the why when there is no present and clear answer.
As adults we have accepted this to a point and just live life.
Then you have kids and they rock your world with the whys all over again.
So you start thinking about them again...
It is a vicious cycle.
I hold out hope that God will give us the whys one day. If we still even care. I personally can see me just living eternal life.
I try to go with, "I don't know", but the little guy won't let me off the hook. He comes back with, "tell me daddy!"
These are the fears of parenthood I have never considered before.
I love the quote about turning curiousity into sarcasm.
That made me laugh out loud!
Post a Comment