by Joel Lawler

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to watch my daughter Chloe perform. She has been working with a local theatre for several years. She has performed many roles. She has played minor characters and also done lights and sound for the theatre's productions. She really loves it. This past performance was her first lead role. She was cast as Kelsi Neilsen in the Disney Musical "High School Musical."

The Kelsi character is a shy awkward girl who tries to stay in the background and shadows. Her gift for writing brings her to the center stage. In the play, she is responsible for writing East High's upcoming play. She works tirelessly to perfect her craft and all her work pays off.

The director told us "it was the role Chloe was born to play." My daughter is very laid back and does not draw attention to herself. Much like her role in the play, she has worked really hard to become great at her craft.

As her father, it was such an incredible joy to see her shine. She brought energy and creativity to her part. She performed beautifully.

Opening night was also my sixteenth wedding anniversary and her performance was the perfect gift for my wife and I.

I often wonder if God takes pleasure in his children's performances. Does he take the time to step back and watch his kids take the stage that is life?

As a father of four, I have been to many shows featuring kids. There is a buzz about the room when the parents are anticipating their kid's entrance. The video recorders and cameras are set and ready to roll. The parents don't want to miss a second.

Does God wait expectantly watching his creation in motion?

God is all knowing, so He knows every move we are going to make. We cannot surprise him. He knows what is going to happen. He knows the count of the hairs on our head. He knows how many cells make up our entire body. He knows the past, present and future. He knows our every moment from before birth to death.

I wonder though, if he does not step outside of his ability to know and just enjoy his beloved creation.

Jesus, who is God, shed his divinity to become man. He willingly restricted himself to a human form. He was born, grew up and became a man in the same process that we all go through. He got hungry. He got tired. He slept. He laughed. He also got angry. He loved to be around kids. He enjoyed them so much that he told those around him that unless they became like the kids around him, they would never enter his kingdom. He was fully man.

Since his return to heaven, I wonder if he doesn't take on his humanness in order to enjoy the life his followers lead. He is all powerful. He could lay aside his deity and pick it up at will.

I only got to see a mere glimpse of my daughter's rehearsals. Before the curtain went up on opening night, I could only guess what she was going to do. I knew that she had spent many hours preparing to perform. She had a lot of lines to memorize. There were songs to learn how to sing. There were also some tricky dance steps that needed to be hammered out.

I knew the effort that went into this but until she took the stage, I had no idea what she was going to do. This not knowing and anticipation added to the experience.

God is all knowing and all powerful but I wonder if he doesn't choose to allow himself to anticipate and enjoy the day to day of the people that he created.
I wonder if he enjoys watching us shine.


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