Ask any mom with little ones: one of the worst places for a kid to cry inconsolably is church. Recently, Lily chose the prayer part of church service to throw a stunning temper tantrum. She was ripe for a nap and wanted to fight it the whole way. I took her out of service and into a stairwell, trying to calm her. Unfortunately, whole minutes passed, and I could not get her to stop. I tried it all– hushing, singing, bouncing– nothing worked.

I knew the whole congregation could hear her screaming, and I knew it was probably a huge test of Sam’s concentration to pray and preach through this epic meltdown Lily was having.

When we enter into a relationship with God, we truly learn about ourselves. Being in union with our creator forces us to be self-aware and allows us to evolve into our true identity each and every day. In this process, we sometimes face a lot of hard truths about who we are and how we can act. We see the ugly that lies within us.