| Sunny Side Up March 8, 2006 �2006, Kathleen Gibson Curiosity hasn't killed me yet I forget what my daughter and I were talking about as we traveled together the other day, but suddenly she laughed and shot me a 'look'. Half comical, half frustrated. "Mom, I'll bet you just drove your parents crazy when you were a little girl. You ask a LOT of questions, and they mostly begin with 'why?'!" She's right. I've earned the nickname I've heard often over the years - Curious Kate. "Sorry, honey. I was born with a question mark in my soul, and I can't erase it." She knows that. All her life she's lived with my questions. She's been asking them herself since she was tiny. Queries that flummoxed me. As a tot, some of hers were classic�.like these two: While trying to picture an absent friend: "Was he the man with the oval or trapezoid shaped head?" And after a graveside service: "Why'd they have to bury her - couldn't they just stand her up make a statue out of her?" Clearly, question marks are hereditary. She's still asking questions, and tenaciously exploring answers. We both are. "Curiosity killed the cat," they say, but it hasn't killed us yet. These days, my biggest 'wonder' is why more people aren't asking questions. About life, about faith, about themselves. Haven't you ever wanted to know why it is�. �that just when you get a little money, something quits? �that when you finally begin to appreciate the gift of health, it flees? �that true riches are mostly the property of the poor? �that the wisest among us often have the least education? �that when you finally figure out the meaning of life, it's often too late to live it? �that the brightest flashes of joy and light only come in the darkest valleys? �that the easier life is, the harder it becomes to practice genuine faith? �that the most generous are often those with the least? �that just when you're healed enough to trust again, someone scrapes the scab? �that you finally catch on to wise parenting after the kids leave? �that the best advice is usually the hardest to take (and give)? �that we can be honest with everyone else but we regularly lie to ourselves? �that it's easier to trust God for other people's problems than our own? �that success, not failure, is the most stringent test of one's spirit? "Why'd you make me so curious?" I ask God sometimes. "It bothers people." I imagine his divine chuckle, but I already know the answer. Curiosity rightly directed is a priceless gift, designed to lead us to truth. Our question marks, you see, were never intended to stand alone. They exist to pursue explanation marks, those satisfying 'Ahhhh' moments that happen when we discover the answers that grow us up. As children, as adults, as people of faith. Never stop asking meaningful questions. True, some are unanswerable, but if you do the work, most will reward you with your 'Ahhh!' moment. Leave the rest to God. ? Respond Home |
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