“Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat?” // Genesis 3:11
“But whyyyyyyy do I have to wear white socks? Why can’t I wear pink socks?”
My headstrong little girl was standing in front of me wearing the wrong socks.
“Those are the rules, bud. Come on, let’s change . . . .”
“Well, who made those rules?”
I didn’t want to answer her questions. I just wanted her to change her socks so we could leave for school. But she was curious. And, even in her combativeness, she seemed to want to understand.
“The uniform rules were made by the principal, who runs our school. And, white socks look neat and tidy with your jumper and shirt. Trust me. You want to wear the white socks.”
I wish I could say she was satisfied with my answer. But, she was not. Instead, she grumbled as she put them on, moped about it the whole way to school, and told me she planned to ask the principal about why she couldn’t wear pink socks if she wanted.
At the risk of sounding a little harsh, the only thing I could think as we battled over socks was, “Them’s the breaks, kid.”
Sometimes, it just doesn’t seem to make sense. Even when we ask, even when we think we have a better way, and especially when someone else is in charge. Why couldn't Adam and Eve eat from that one tree in the Garden? God must have had His reasons.
We seem to exist in a perpetual state of “wanting to know why,” usually because we want to be in control. Our curiosity is certainly something that can guide and lead us to Truth. But when our curiosity leads to questioning God’s commands and His will, it can lead us to a place of doubting His goodness and providence in our lives. It’s not so much that we aren’t meant to wonder or to seek. It’s that in our wondering, wandering, and seeking, we come to see that God’s commands and will for us, sometimes mysterious and beyond our comprehension, as a profoundly good gift, a unique and graced opportunity, and ultimately, what is best for us.
What are you struggling with today? Take it to Jesus in prayer.
Katie Prejean McGrady is an international speaker and award winning four books. She hosts The Katie McGrady Show on Sirius XM's The Catholic Channel and the Ave Explores podcast with Ave Maria Press, the Like a Mother podcast with OSV, and Family Mass Prep on the Hallow App. She tries to create a happy and cozy home in Lake Charles, Louisiana with her husband, Tommy, and daughters, Rose and Clare.
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