When I was a child

Last night I had to stop for milk on my way home. In the line (at the check out), there was a young dad trying to control his child. The child wanted a sweet and the dad did not want to buy it last night. The toddler was shouting and crying and then accused the dad of lying. Once I moved beyond my own fatigue after a long day and irritation with everything around me, I thought that conversation was a little interesting. Apparently the dad promised to buy a sweet last week and did so. Trying to reason with a toddler who was probably tired and hungry, seemed to be an impossible task.

Driving home, I thought about how often I do just the same in my relationship with God. I have quoted Him out of context, even in talking to Him. I have cried and begged. I have not listened or tried to understand reason.

One issue I am particularly hung up on, is healing. I cannot understand why some people get healed and others not. On Sunday, we talked about this in our community. I wish there was a formula we could follow to get a 'yes' from God.

On the other hand, I wish I could get to the place Paul was when he wrote to the Corinthians, saying 'when I was a child, I reasoned like a child'. Nobody I know wants to be branded as a 'naughty child'. Yet, I do not understand.

Today, I am right back at that all too familiar place, where I do not know the answers.