"The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good."
I find myself saying to Gram a lot, "I see you!" I say it to convey comfort to him, to let him know I care about what he's doing, that I'm still close by, that I haven't left him. I say it to acknowledge whatever kind of cuteness he's bubbling over with at that moment, to say to him I love watching him learn and grow and do something new.
I'm sure there will come a time when "I see you!" will be in response to some kind of mischief that Gram is up to. But for now seeing Gram is so much fun, not only for me but for Gram too. It's incredible to see his face light up when our eyes meet. He's begun to smile and laugh at us while we're having conversations with other people, he's not even part of the conversation! But when we look over and see him smiling and laughing, he does it all the more. He loves to talk back to us in response to our talking to him. It's obvious in so many ways that Gram wants to be seen, longs for it actually. Such a critical part of a baby's development is being acknowledged and included in life around them. Everything in them cries out to be seen.
There are times that I, too, long to be seen - for my life to be acknowledged and affirmed, to get some encouragement and empowerment for whatever good I'm trying to do at the time. I expect and depend on God seeing me. My whole life depends on it actually. If God didn't see me, I would be in total darkness, doomed to destruction and pain forever. But God does see me. He seems me in the middle of the night when I'm awake with a hungry baby. He sees me early in the morning and late at night. He sees my coming and going. He sees me...
He sees me even when I don't see myself. There have been times in my life that I'm not particularly proud of. There are times even now (and I know in the future) when my behavior doesn't line up with my heart, or my heart doesn't line up with His, and I've forgotten myself. In those moments I kind of hope God doesn't see me. However, it's exactly because He does that I am not lost. He eyes bring me back every time, reminding me that I am not alone, that he's still close by. Being seen reminds me that I am cared about and loved, that God loves seeing me grow and learn and do good. That as Gram learns about the world around him, I learn about Gram and that same world, and together we are seen.
