“Because I Said So…”

“Because I said so”

Growing up, I heard this one a time or two (or three, or four, or ….)
I rarely questioned something my parents said out of rebellion, mostly just out of curiosity. But there were times that I simply didn’t want to listen, I wanted to be lazy, I wanted to do my own thing. Most of us have heard, or said the line “because I said so” in our lifetime. Haven’t we all been there?

In my house, the conversation normally went something like this:
Mom: “Jessica, will you go clean up?” “Jessica, will you help your sister?” “Jessica, don’t take that drink into your room.” “Jessica….”
My response was always: “But why?”
And her response, without fail, was: “Because I said so”

Something I never realized growing up was that the “because I said so” was never to try and hurt me, to deprive me of something good, or to punish me. In fact, the “because I said so” was quite the opposite. Most often, it was to protect me, to lead me to something better, or to allow me to receive a greater reward of some sort. As a child, this was a mystery to me. But now I have realized:

I wasn’t expected to understand the “whys” of what my mom asked me to do.
I wasn’t expected to have all of the answers to what she was doing.
I wasn’t even expected to like what she told me to do.
But I was expected to be obedient to her wishes and rules.

Because she understood. She had the answers. She knew.

(Thanks, mom!)

But the “because I said so” has taught me something far greater than just being a good kid.
It taught me about faith.

What?

Yeah, faith.

Last year was huge for personal growth for me. But in general, Senior year of high school to now has been a period of learning and growing more than any other. In this time, I’ve learned a lot about obedience. God is a Father. He has rules, He has guidelines. Just as my mom’s because I said so’s were to better me, so are God’s commands, His because I said so’s, if you will.

In life:
I am not called to understand the “whys” of what God is doing.
I am not called to have all the answers to what He’s going to do.
I am not even called to like all that God is currently doing or will do.
But I am called to be obedient to His calling, His will.

And I am called to be obedient to better me, to protect me, to make me more like Him.
Because He understands the “whys” of what He’s doing.
Because He has all the answers to what He’s going to do.
Because He LOVES what He is currently doing or will do in my life.

I am called to, because He is.