I received a phone call from Brandt’s school yesterday evening. I was busy making supper, and distracted as I answered the phone–expecting the Nurse about having received another updated copy of his medical records. So when his Drama teacher introduced herself and said she was calling just to tell me how much she is enjoying having him in her class….I was no less than stunned.

Then as soon as I got off the phone, as if right on cue, Mags and Brandt came into the kitchen to show me his latest rendition of Robin Williams’ hysterical voice dialogue from “Mrs. Doubtfire”…he nailed it and we all burst out laughing.

He’ll be the first to tell you that he “does voices”; but that’s an understatement. He recently taught himself how to speak with an Australian accent; and the first time I heard him “do a voice”, he was less than three years old sitting in his carseat in the van and nailed “Pull the lever, Kronk. WRONG LEVEHHH!!” from the movie The Emperor’s New Groove….I almost drove off the road in hysterics.

And remembering that moment in the van from almost a decade ago…I was gently reminded:

This, too, is a part of the Biblical exhortation to “raise up a child in the way they should go”….to look for and encourage the gifts that God has placed in their life. But it’s not just the job of a parent or a wonderfully awesome teacher…to appreciate and encourage the gifts we see in others is part of being a loving friend, child, sibling and significant other. And it’s a wonderful gift in itself because it takes that kind of maturity and inner confidence that allows us to look beyond our own nose and truly “see” someone else…that kind of self-LESS awareness and compassion that is tragically lacking in our busy society today.

But when we can enCourage others to be all that God made them to be…we become like a refreshing summer rain in a life journey often filled with long, hot draughts…and leaving you with more Strength and Courage than when they arrived is a Blessing…and a Wonder-full way for them to go. 🙂

“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6 NKJV)

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,” (Hebrews 10:23, 24 NKJV)