I’ve often wondered how it is that toddlers can walk headlong into impending danger without any inkling of the threat that lies ahead. Their reckless abandon in the matters of personal safety is both impressive and mindboggling at the same time. I assume the reasoning in their little brains, should there be such a thing, must either be “Danger does not exist, therefore everything I touch and do is safe”, or “I’m indelibly glued to an invisible hand that will protect me at all times, even if I rush to the edge of the bed and plop myself down back-first at the exact spot where mattress ends and mid-air begins.” Yet, they manage to survive childhood, despite their many close encounters, because we are there safeguarding them, adjusting their footing, breaking their falls, and looking ahead to make sure the next move they make is a safe one.

And that’s how God parents us. The truth is, we stumble a lot, and sometimes we make rash, thoughtless decisions as a by-product of our limited scope of understanding. We ask for things that have... (Continued)