From The Depths Of A Four Year Old Mind

My sweet child is talkative by nature. I am rather certain my ears may fall off by 9:00 am each day.  Most of
her chatter comes in the form of a question.  According to a 2009 study, preschoolers are motivated by a desire for explanation.  Another article I read said that preschoolers as an average of 100 questions a day.  Personally, I think my child is far above average on this one, but her constant chatter is not really the issue at hand.  Sometimes, it is the depth of her questions and conversations that has me shaking my head.

This afternoon, we ventured to an indoor pool to continue working on her swimming (a term I use very loosely here as she is not actually swimming much at all).  There was a woman assisting a young man, who on land is confined to a wheelchair.  A smile spread wide across his face the entire time they were in the water, and he moved his body in a mermaid fashion while under water.  I was impressed with his ability in spite of his disability.  As they were leaving the pool, my child began asking questions.

"Why is he in that chair?"  "His legs do not work the same as ours do, so he has to be in it to move around."

"But why don't his legs work?"  "Because that is how God created him."

"Maybe when God made him, God thought the boy's legs worked, but then they didn't."  "God knew what He was doing honey.  He made that young man just as he wanted him."

"But why would he make him with legs that don't work?  That doesn't make sense."  "I do not know exactly why, but I know we can trust God.  And when we are all in Heaven, that boy's legs will work just fine."

"Our legs work though."  "Yes, they do, and we should be thankful for that simple fact."

"I can't wait to be in Heaven."  "Me neither.  Everything will make sense when we are in Heaven."

How do I explain, to my daughter's young mind, that life isn't always pretty?  How do I protect her innocence, help her develop her faith in God, while acknowledging that life on this earth is broken and fragile?  Because I want her to know, really know, at the core of who she is that God is good.  I want her to know that He created her innermost being (Psalm 139:13) and knows the very number of hairs on her head (Luke 12:7).  I want her to be confident, even in the most trying of times, that God will never leave her (Hebrews 13:5).  I pray she holds tightly onto the eternal, while loosely gripping this finite land.

And I never want her to stop asking questions.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.  (Phillipians 1:6)