Life lessons sometimes come when we least expect. I’ve been learning one over the last week from, of all things, an eastern bluebird.

The first encounter happened early one morning at the newspaper. The quiet of the morning was suddenly disturbed with “wham” on the window.

A quick turn toward the window and whatever it was had fled.

“Must have been a bird that saw a reflection,” I thought.

A few seconds later and another “wham.”

Then another.

My curiosity made me stop and investigate. There perched on a fence was a beautiful bluebird, staring at me. He seemed a little perturbed that I’d appeared at the window.

As I retreated back to my computer, the bluebird went back to his mysterious mission.

“Wham.”

“Wham.”

“Wham.”

This went on every few seconds for the better part of an hour.

I called a co-worker over to see the spectacle.

Then, as the sun rose, the bird found something else to do, apparently, or at least was resting his certainly sore body.

The fun was over. And I went back to work.

It was, I thought, just one of those fleeting little moments that happen in our lives, amusing for a minute, but fleeting.

But the bird came back the next morning.

And the next morning and the next.

His morning routine has been going on for a few weeks now.

As of late last week, he was still a regular morning visitor, determinedly trying to either get inside our building or get to the “other” bluebird he saw in reflection.

One morning, he was standing at the base of our front door, peering inside as if he was waiting for some kind soul to open the door.

At first I merely discounted this bird as being nutty. The glass on my window isn’t mirrored so any reflection he’s seeing would be faint at best.

But he’s among the most determined creatures I’ve seen in a long, long time.

Almost like clockwork, he would appear, flying head first into the clear glass, a collision that ended with flapping and fluttering wings followed by a quick retreat before another attempt was made.

Over and over again he tried.

And his antics have become a part of my mornings lately.

I found myself thinking about this bird the other day as I drove to work.

“Would he be there? Had he given up yet?”

Then I realized the lesson God had for me in this silly, almost stupid encounter with the bluebird.

Like the bird, God never gives up on us.

No matter what we’ve done or do, He is always there, a constant and unchanging Father.

And I think He wants us to pursue the missions He gives us in life with the same determined, hardheaded passion that that bluebird goes after that window.

Life is tough. It’s difficult some mornings to get up and get moving for many people.

But like that bird, we must get up and get moving.

Having a mission helps motivate us to pursue our life’s mission.

I firmly believe God gives all of us certain gifts and talents and seeks us to use those talents to glorify him.

It’s up to us to listen to Him and figure out what those talents are so we can use those gifts to better serve Him.

Through that bird, God also reminded me to be quiet, listen and pay attention to things that go on around me. We never know when life’s lessons will come or how they’ll be delivered.

Sometimes they come clearly; sometimes they come with a knock on the window.

Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.