Saying “No” Out of Love

            Can I tell you about my granddaughters?  How many of you would be interrupting me right now to tell me about your own? But here’s the thing. This is my column, and you can’t interrupt me, so here goes.

            My wife and I have two sons.  They were both adopted when they were toddlers. Neither one was a baby when they came into our homes. Our two oldest granddaughters were also older when they came into our lives. Long story.  If I meet you on the street and you’re interested, I’ll be glad to tell you about them both. To summarize, one was five and the other was 14.

            But then there is the little one. Her birthday is this coming Sunday. She will be four.  She is the only baby my wife and I have ever held in infancy who was truly our own.  For that reason, she is quite special.  Hear me clearly. We treat the three girls equally. Not identically, but equally. 

            But back to the baby.  Her name is Mary Violet. We sometimes call her MV. But the nickname that has stuck the most is Mee Vee.  Yep, if you ask her what her name is she will most likely say, “I’m Mee Vee.” 

            As you can imagine, Mee Vee is on the verge of being spoiled, and not just by her grandparents. Those two big sisters love her and dote on her, too.  She often acts as if she rules the roost, and we allow her to think so at times. But we also have to tell her no from time to time.  We do so for her own good. We do so because we love her.

            There are things in all of our lives that do not meet the expectations that God has for us.  The fact that He sometimes tells us no, or seek to have us change our ways, is not an indication that He does not love us. He settled that He loves us at the cross. But because of His love, and because He wants the best for us, God has a plan. It is in our interest to follow that plan. I pray that you will discover and then endeavor to do what God wants you to do. Your life will be more fulfilling as you do.