Why, Why, Why?

If I had a penny for every time Carson (my almost 3 year old daycare kiddo) asked me "Why?" throughout the day, I would be a millionaire. Well, maybe not a millionaire, but I would be well on my way!

"Why is Coralyn eating breakfast?" "Why is Coralyn sitting on the potty?" "Why are you cleaning that?" "Why is it dirty?" "Why did T-Bone (our cat) go downstairs?" "Why does T-Bone what to go outside?" "Why did Cocoa's Grammy leave her shoes here?" "Why did Cocoa's Daddy go to work?" "Why are you cutting the paper?" "Why did you shut the door?" "Why can't we go outside?" "Why is that hot?" "Why are you making bread for later?" "Why isn't Emma here today?" "Why is she at home with her Daddy?" "Why is Aaron gone?" "Why is he at school?" "Why are we going to the library?" "Why are we going to put the food out for the birds?" "Why aren't the birds coming to eat yet?" "Why are the dogs barking?" "Why are they talking to each other?"

I think you get the idea :)

I don't want to quench a curious spirit and really do believe that "why?" can be a great question most of the time and lead to some great teaching moments. BUT, after about the 50th "Why?" in 2 minutes, I am ready to be done with curiosity and teachable moments. I am done trying to truly answer the question or give yet another explanation. "Because I said so," or "That's just the way things are" are much more typical responses. And around "Why?" number 378, I end up telling Carson, "All done! No more asking 'why?'!"

The worst is when the answer to "Why?" is totally obvious and Carson already knows the answer. Or I just told him the answer to the exact same question 6 seconds ago. At that point I want to remove "why" from the English language, or at least Carson's vocabulary.

As I was getting frustrated with Carson's endless "Why's" I got to thinking about how often I ask God "Why?" How I want an answer, expect one really. I don't just ask one time either. I keep on asking, again and again, day after day after day. I wonder if God feels like I am pestering Him or if I annoy Him at times. I wonder if He thinks, "Great, here comes Sarah again. I bet she wants to know why." I wonder how He responds when I have asked "Why?" for the 4,592nd time. I hope He doesn't get as frustrated with me as I do with Carson.

So, I am left with 2 choices. Realizing how annoying "Why?" can become, I could stop asking God "Why" all together. Or, if I am expecting God to be patient with me, no matter how many times I ask "Why?" I should probably show that same patience to Carson.

Seeing as how we are supposed to go to God with our hearts open and share our deepest feelings with Him, I don't think eliminating "Why" from my prayer life is a viable option. That leaves me with learning how to be patient, even after the 217th "Why?" in just 10 minutes.

That leaves me appreciating God's extreme love and patience for me!