As a teenager, I could not wrap my head around why my parents had (what felt like) a million rules. I was not allowed to ride in cars with other teenagers. I was not allowed to spend time at friends’ homes without parents around. I had to check in regularly. I tried to rebel in my way. I pushed the limits. There was this and that, endless rules, so much hovering.

Or so I thought.

Now that I am a parent myself, I hear myself saying those same things my own parents told me.

“I love you too much to let you do that.”

My children are small, but I have rules and safety measures for all aspects of their lives. I know I cannot shelter them from everything, but I hope that these things help my children stay safe and grow into capable and responsible adults.

They fight bed time, but I know they need their rest. They want sweets for dinner, but I know that proper nutrition will help them grow. And I’m sure as they get older, our rules will change and shift, and I’ll get flashbacks to when my own parents taught me.

God has made commandments for the same reason. Today's Reading and the Gospel really bring this home. He loves us and wants us to to be His own. When we push boundaries or falter, He tips our chins up to Him and tells us,

“I love you too much to let you do that.”

He is a loving and compassionate Father. He loves us beyond our wildest imaginations. He gives us His perfect law and His commandments so that we may continue to grow into who we are meant to be.

[bctt tweet="He loves us and wants us to to be His own. // @substance_soul" username="blessedisshe__"]

Let's pray together, "Good and loving God the Father, help me to let You guide me and love me. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Dr. Samantha Aguinaldo-Wetterholm is a wife to Paul, mom to three little ones, and practices dentistry at a public health community center for low income families in the Bay Area, California. She (unashamedly) thinks ice cream is its own food group, does not leave the house without wearing sparkly earrings, and is an enthusiastic proponent of the Oxford comma. She is a contributing author to our children's devotional prayer book called Rise Up. Find out more about her here.