One fact about God is He never runs out of ways to teach us new truths or challenge us in our relationship with Him, but I believe one of His favorite ways is through our relationships with children.

     My son’s daughter, Jolie, was almost two years old at the time. It was the Holiday season and attendance at the Christmas program her preschool was conducting was a requirement for Gram and Papa. The church sanctuary was brimming with family members – all of us impatient - I mean EAGER- to see what was planned for us. Finally, the children began to enter, and I quickly spotted Jolie’s class all dressed up like wise men. For control purposes, the toddlers were seated in chairs around the manger and several teachers were strategically placed on the stage; because, as we all know, if you ever lose one, you’ll probably lose them all!

Read more: That Baby - The One in the Manger

It's a stage show that's inspiring, educational, downright amusing at times, and absolutely free of charge! What is it? Nature. Or, in God's words, "the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts...and every thing that creeps upon the earth." Genesis 1:28 We're usually too preoccupied to be amused or awed by it very often, but this "show" goes on around the clock!

I've enjoyed a little bit of this entertainment and inspiration through the years, courtesy of our fine feathered friends. Their mating ritual is comical and quite strange to say the least, their ability to weave hundreds of tiny sticks together until they mold that perfectly shaped nest is rather impressive, and their diligence in protecting and caring for their young is outstanding; but it's the feeding of their newborns, which recently amused and inspired me. Every time a parent bird lit on the edge of the nest, every baby in it threw its spike-haired little head back, chirping at the top of its lungs - with a beak bigger than its body - "Mine! Mine! Mine!" They opened their mouths so wide you would have thought they were getting T-bone steak for supper instead of that wiry little worm Momma had found in the bushes. In due time, each one stood on its scrawny legs, hopped out of its nest, learned to fly, and, of course, began to scratch around in the bushes for its own supper. God in His great goodness made sure provisions were there, but Momma wasn't bringing home the groceries anymore, if you know what I mean. It was time to get it for themselves.

Read more: Get Out of the Nest

     There have been times I have looked at God in total frustration and asked, “What in the world are You doing?!?!?” And, yes, I’ve asked it in an accusing way – as if He was mismanaging the situation. Sometimes I’ve asked it in anger, because I felt mistreated by Him; and, I must admit, I’ve always asked it in arrogance, because to ask it at all was to exalt the created above the Creator.

     Isaiah is considered to be one of the greatest prophets ever – delivering over and again God’s message of hope to a people lacking in faith and fortitude. In the face of seeming defeat, he stood as God’s mouthpiece, speaking the Lord’s promises of victory to the Jewish nation. Through Isaiah God reminded His children of the miraculous way He had delivered them from Egyptian slavery, amazed them all when He parted the waters of the Red Sea, and then snuffed out the lives of their enemies Isaiah wrote “like a smoldering candlewick.” 43:17 Just when He had brought it all back to their remembrance, God declared “But forget all that – it is NOTHING compared to what I am going to do!” 43:18 Wow! If parting a sea, bringing water from a rock, and dropping enough food from Heaven every morning to feed millions of Jews  was nothing compared to what He was about to do…well…WOW! Sure enough, it was some pretty awesome stuff He had in store for them.

Read more: Just Let the Potter do His Thing!

Some people are experts at hiding inner turmoil. To see them at the workplace or even at church, you'd never know what issues lay beneath that cheerful exterior. Oh, I'm not trying to be negative about people temporarily putting on a fake smile for the benefit of the rest of the team. No, I'm all for putting your best foot forward, and I'm a firm believer in the power of positive thinking. In Philippians, Paul told us how important it is to think on those things that are pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and worthy of praise; and for good reason! What we fill our minds with affects our behavior; so I view some of that external cheerfulness - though fake it may be at times - as an internal choice not to let the circumstances get the upper hand!

Thankfully, there are a few people in our lives, though, that can see past the façade - people who know us so well that they can detect when something's amiss and will question us about it; because there are times when we need to let down the mask and share our pain, revealing our inner angst to a good friend, pastor, or mentor. Sometimes we need someone with skin on to be Jesus' strong arms of support and encouragement. But, even then, there are many among us who are experts at erecting an impenetrable wall to any who might attempt to dig a little deeper than surface level; and, of course, there are always those who even try to hide the truth from themselves - choosing to avoid any and all confrontation with the root cause of their torment. A bandaid is applied and everyone is told - themselves included - that it's just a little cut when, in fact, it's a life-robbing cancer that's eating away at them from the inside out.

Read more: What Lies Beneath