Why? Well...because!

"Why can't I have that?"  "Why can't I do that?"  "Why can't I go there?"  "Why? Why? Why?"  Dylan has a way to overwhelm me with his demands.  Honestly, I can't sit around and explain every single detail of why he should not play Fortnite every single second of his awake existence.  Trust me.  I have tried to explain it to him.  In great length Dan and I had talked to him about the damage that non-stop video gaming does to a person, particularly a growing person.  But it has made no difference.  Inevitably, Dylan would come back asking "why?"

He doesn't get it.  He doesn't want to get it.  Why would he?  He loves the game too much.  Playing it brings him immense satisfaction.  He can't understand, for the life of him, why his parents, who profess to love him intensely, would refuse to allow him something that brings him so much pleasure?!

Sigh...

This situation with Dylan makes me think about the unanswered "whys" that we all have dealt with and will deal with in our lives.  Dylan is definitely not the only one, the first or the last person in the world who sinks in frustration when his "whys" are not adequately answered.  I heard a teacher on the radio today say something that intrigued me.  He commented that "Jesus didn't come to the world to answer why." 

hmmm...

But, why wouldn't He?  If there is someone who knows how to answer all and every "why" is Jesus.  Then, why didn't He come to do that?  I mean, wouldn't that make life easier for all of us, including Himself?  The constant nagging would stop, right?

The thing is that Dylan, as well as many of us, me included, don't really care to know why.  That's not really the issue here.  We just want it our way.  The question, "why" is only a distraction to see if we can get a yes there somewhere.  The explanation is actually irrelevant.  That's why Dylan continues to ask "why" after we have provided him with sound reasons.  The questioning doesn't have much to do with reason as it has to do with control.

And that's what Jesus wants.  He wants for us to give up the illusion of control and surrender to Him.  He wants us to trust Him even when we don't understand.  Most remarkably, He wants us to trust Him even when we do understand, but still demand or hope to have it our way.

The disillusionment and the frustration of having to give up the control we so tightly hold on to is softened by the reality of Christ's love and guidance.  He is holding our hand through the true path...the path that will lead us to a level of intimacy that says:  "Not my way, Lord, but Yours!"

I'm not sure if Dylan will ever stop asking "why" to certain things we as parents decide for him.  But I do pray that one day, perhaps a long time from now, he realizes that it was all about love.