Yesterday, I had some hard news to share with my kids.  The information was particularly relevant to one child, and I could see he was having a bit of a hard day.  Exhausted and recovering from an infection, I sensed it just wasn't the right time.  I anticipated that his response would be disappointment--even grief.  So, motivated by love and concern, I went with my intuition and held the information for the right time.  

Another time, Chris and I held back information for the sake of surprising our children.  For many years, we had dreamed of attending family camp in Canada with all of our Canadian family.  Realizing we had reached a point financially to make that a reality, we decided to make it a HUGE surprise.  We only told one cousin who helped us with transportation once we landed in Calgary.  We threw our kids off with various hints about this mystery vacation, only revealing the truth when we got to the airport to check-in.

Sometimes, as parents, we choose the wisdom of keeping our kids on a need-to-know basis.  In this way, we are much like our Heavenly Father.  There are many seasons of my life when I feel as though God is silent.  It may be that I am waiting for an answer or direction.  Or it may be that I just feel my prayers are bouncing off the ceiling.  Have you been there?  Are you there now?

I long ago grasped the truth that God ALWAYS answers our prayers.  Chris and I enjoy the sentiment of Garth Brook's Unanswered Prayers song, although we find it a bit theologically off.  It's not that He doesn't answer--it's just that sometimes he says no or wait.  Those are tough seasons to be sure.  But, yesterday I stumbled on this Scripture in my Jonah Bible study, and I love how it summed this all up.