Go Your Own Way

Last week, our daughter Miriam turned 9. Her birthday in the midst of pandemic was like many things we have all experienced over the past months, lackluster and with little fanfare. In all honesty it was a disaster. No party + online schooling + attitude = tears for our daughter and frustrated parents. I wish this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day was a one-time occurrence. That a wall was hit or the last straw broken. I wish I could say these outbursts only happen every once in awhile. I wish that was true, but it’s not. Lately, being a parent has been difficult. We have struggled with push back and a lack of desire to do what is right or has been asked.

I’m sure we are not alone. I am sure our daughter, if she knew the song, would quote Will Smith by saying, “Parents just don’t understand.” And yet, I still wish she would listen as we try to guide, love, and help her during these very difficult times.

I wonder if that is how God sees us from time to time. I wonder how often we are the 9-year-old know-it-all who just wants to create TikTok songs, watch Barbie shows on Netflix, and Facetime our friends. Sure we hear the advice, and we know it’s the right thing to do, but we just don’t want to. We, instead, choose to do our own thing, and our shortsightedness overshadows the larger arc of life.

Throughout the biblical text, we are reminded of those who failed to see the bigger picture. Instead of listening to God or their parents, they chose to blaze their own path at the expense of themselves and their relationship. Take, for instance, the Prodigal Son, who wants what is his so that he can live his own life, a life far away from parents and family to help guide and love him. The consequence of such actions did not end well for him. Scripture says, “Finding himself destitute and in the midst of a severe famine in the land, he hires himself out to a pig farmer. Seeing firsthand that the pigs were eating better than him, he decides to return to his father and beg to be allowed to serve as a hired servant on the estate.”

When the son returns, we experience a truth. It is the same truth I tell my daughter before she goes to bed. I love you! Sure, last Monday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. We have raised our voices, and we have frustrated each other to the point of exhaustion. So many things could have gone better, and, yet, the truth remains. I love you.

On this day, may we be reminded of God’s love even when we fall short of the big picture. God is always there to welcome us home, and to remind us that even on the worst days, we are still loved.