El Roi: The God Who Sees Me

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

Luke has really been coming into his own this past year. Some of the growth has been painful, but mostly it's been good. He's really finding his stride with music. It's his talent. His thing. He loves playing the guitar and he's good at it. Really good.

It's only natural, then, that Gabe would take notice of all the positive attention his big brother is suddenly getting. He's been asking a lot of questions lately about what we like about him, etc.

Today, as I was journaling, he came into my room and asked me what three words I'd use to describe him. I happily complied and he went on his way. A while later he came back in, kicked back on my bed, and asked if I thought he had any talents.

Ah.

I tend to be more task oriented than people oriented, but God has slowly been changing this in me. I recognized that this was more than just a typical kid question. Something was weighing on his heart. I sat down by him and we had a discussion about what it means to find your gifts and talents.

I reminded him that Luke only just got into music. It might take him a while - even years - to really come into his own. I reminded him that God has given us gifts and talents and wants us to use them. He delights in us using those gifts and it's how we advance the kingdom of God and love and care for others. I believe that with prayer and patience he will find what he's good at and what he's meant to do.

I encouraged him to do, explore, and develop whatever is placed before him now and that he may be surprised where it takes him. Some people discover what they're good at or what they're meant to do all at once, but others have a more winding path. You don't need to see the whole staircase to take the first step.

We discussed developing his character and relationship with God first and to let the rest fall into place.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33

I told him that I see that he has a real love of learning and that that's an awesome gift in an of itself and that it can lead him to great things. He perked right up. Later, he came to me and said that he really needed more books about facts. He has a couple and he's read over them again and again. I agreed and told him we'd look at the library the next time we visited.

Later in the day I went into the thrift store and sorted clothes for a while. The director was going through a bunch of random donations. She asked if I wouldn't mind dropping off some books at the library and I told her that would be fine because I needed to go by there anyway.

When I got to the library I opened the back hatch and the books had come spilling out of their box. I read the covers as I put them back. Drug reference, drug reference, old encyclopedia...then I saw this:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="333"] (I can't share the actual book right now, so here's a placeholder)[/caption]

I was so excited. I took hit home to Gabe and showed him. He was thrilled. Such a blessing.

He sees us and cares about what we care about. He knows what we're struggling with and cares for us in those struggles. He is El-Roi, the God Who Sees (Me).