Lesson learned from my pirate.

This is Sam. Sam is my baby. He is two but in a few short weeks is turning 3. Most days he refers to himself as "Capin Hook". Of course this title is replaced by "Erran (errand) Boy" on days he spends at the store and running errands with me.

The Lord has used Sam (and Maddie) to teach me many lessons through out my years being a mom. The most recent lesson was taught through one simple word. One simple word that my errand pirate boy uses all the time. If you are a parent, you know what one word a 2 year old uses over and over. What to take a guess? Why, it's "why" of course.

If I have heard Sam ask me "why" once a day, I hear it a billion times. In Sam's world, you can't just ask "why". No, no, no....."why" is always followed by "why, Mommy, why". Which is followed by, "but why".

Today I was complaining my way through yet another Arctic day. I am mumbling and stomping around....in true adult like fashion. I was cold. The kids had energy to burn but couldn't go outside. Wednesdays are non stop motion with school, AWANA, and ice skating lessons all in one day. Not to mention that I was running around getting immunization forms for Maddie's Kindergarten (don't even want to think about it) registration. Remember this summer's immunization quest? Anyway, I was deep in complain mode.

Did you read my post that tomorrow the wind chill is suppose to be -40? See, I have reason to complain, right?

What was I saying? Oh yea, back to why. So I was complaining (might I add to the Lord) about why He chose Minnesota for us. The conversation went something like this.....

"Why, Lord did you move us far away?" I am so cold and the kids miss being able to go outside and just play.

"Why, Lord, why did you have to move us where it is literally freezing half the year?" Virgina Washington D.C. or even Texas would have been better than this.

"But why, Lord did I have to leave all my friends, my kids' friends, my family behind?" Are you seeing a pattern here?


It hit me like a ton of bricks. I had become my 2 year old. At 29, when I should be mature and adult like in everything, I was regressing back to my toddler years. I might add, I had quite the whine going on too. I know I relearned that well from Maddie.

What do you answer your child when they ask "why" over the must mundane everyday thing? Okay, what do you answer your child when they ask "why" to questions you have answered a billion times? I usually start out with a great educational answer (or because I said so). Then, the more he asks, the shorter my answer becomes. Until finally I answer, "Sam, you know the reason." At this he usually just smiles. He isn't a dummy. He knows the answer, seeing I had just answered it 50 million times.

Do you know what? God answered me. Not in a booming voice. Not on a billboard (though that would make things easier sometimes, wouldn't it?). Not in fireworks. He used me to answer my own "why".

You see, God knew that I knew the answer to my "why". The answer was in the Bible just as it had been since the beginning of this journey. Just as it has been the million other times I had asked "why".

The answer to my "why" sounds a bit like this .....Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. And this...Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Maybe the Lord took away everything I held dear so that I would learn to lean on Him and Him only. Without many friends, the Lord and I sure do chat more than we used to. Maybe it was simply for Wade's career. Maybe it was for the kids. I don't know the exact reason. And that's okay.

So, while I can't see what lies at the end of this, Minnesota road, I do know that God is the one driving. He is in control. He has the road map and knows all the twists and turns, all the icy patches and spots of snow. All I have to do is answer my own "why" and fully trust in Him.

What is the answer to your "why"?