God the Parent

I've never felt more like God than as a parent:

"You can play with anything, anywhere in the room, except in the drawers. Please leave the drawers closed."

Elle: *immediately goes to a forbidden drawer*

It's not that the drawers have anything bad in them. It's just lots of small, probably-toxic-if-ingested pieces of makeup with loose caps; extra toilet paper; hair clips and bands that go missing often enough without help; etc. When Elle is older and can use the items responsibly, it'll be fine to open the drawers and explore.

I'm not just on a power trip, but I'd be lying if I said convenience wasn't at least part of the equation. I've already sacrificed the bathroom cabinets and the bedroom closet. I've made peace with those spaces being disorganized and having to corral items after every bout of toddler exploration. I'm drawing the line at the drawers.

It is interesting to ponder the parallels between my bathroom and the Garden of Eden. So much freedom versus one request. One who understands the nuances of what's off-limits, one who is still learning. Boundaries, trust, testing from both sides.

My dad and I have often had conversations about the Tree of Knowledge. How long were Adam and Eve in the garden before eating the fruit? What would have happened if Adam and Eve had eaten from the Tree of Life first? What if Adam and Eve had never eaten the forbidden fruit, but their kids had? The question "Was the Tree to be off-limits forever?" is what I've been thinking about today. Maybe God just wanted Adam and Eve to stay away until they knew not to swallow concealer caps, remain innocent until they had more life under their belts.

Figuratively—y'know—cuz they were naked.

Most of my limits for Elle are for her safety and will change as her mind and body mature—but some of them are for my convenience. There's nothing dangerous about taking her outfits apart and strewing them around the room, but it's annoying to reorganize so she isn't allowed to do that.

Was God's command not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge entirely for Adam and Eve's safety, or was it partly for his convenience?

The serpent would certainly have us believe the latter, but I tend not to think so. As a human, my patience is extremely limited, but God's isn't. He may groan when we commit the same sin for the umpteenth time, but it isn't because he's fed up or annoyed that he has to clean up after us; it's because he wants us to experience fullness and joy. I think God has the capacity to be completely Good; none of his commands or decisions are "selfish" the way we define it. They are selfish in that they're about him, but only because he is Good. God does things for The Good, and that happens to align with him every time because he is the ultimate Good.

In a perfect world, where I was perfect, would I not have any rules that were purely for convenience? Now that I'm thinking about it, no. I would still have rules that were for "convenience," because it is good to learn to respect others' time/work/items. In the short run, keeping Elle out of certain areas is half for safety, half convenience, but in the long run, it's more like half-safety, half-practicing consideration. Or a quarter-practicing consideration and a quarter practicing self-control.

I might be losing my train of thought here.

To sum up: being a parent makes me think about God more, respecting boundaries is a good skill to practice early.

~Stephanie