What Is God Shaping Them For?

Here is how I described my son in a recent bio: "Ethan is 20 and starting his sophomore year at UW Stout after one year at Northwestern College and one year online through WITC. He landscapes his ice-cream calories away in the summer, and is the perfect blend of dashing, wise, witty and ...redneck. He is pursuing a degree in Engineering Technology."

Here, I present you the 'redneck' part:

{Ethan and my first grand-baby, Bennett}

Along with his handsome and humor genes, Ethan has DNA with mechanical ability, DNA with adventure and DNA with a wee bit of disorderliness {due in part, I'm sure, to his ice-cream burning job keeping him busy from sun-up until sun-down}All that to say, he is wired to tear apart and build stuff.

A long time ago I wrote in my Bible, "Lord, show me my children's giftedness that I may encourage them in your plan for their life!" With some kids their gifts are more obvious than others. If you watch, if you look for them, you will see them. When Ethan was two years old and he heard a truck or tractor on the road, he would run over to the window, press his hands and little nose onto the window and just stand there fixated until it passed by. 

At three, while on his tricycle, he actually ran into the garage because he was watching the wheel go round in front of him. When he was around five years old, his dad gave him ATV magazines and he would share with me how many cc's a honda had. {WHAT??} When he was in early middle school, miniature remomote control cars called Zip Zaps were popular. We often stopped at Radio Shack on the way home from school so he could look and occasionally buy one for $10. ALWAYS, I found them in little parts and pieces in his bedroom. And he continues to investigate and modify. The shed is a larger version of his nightstand drawer that contained the teeny parts of Zip Zaps.

His dad has taught him the nuts and bolts of dis-assembling and rebuilding things bigger. He is continuing to school himself in many areas mechanical...cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, ATVs, etc.

And I have loved watching the process of his formation, still wondering where his road will lead, trusting God is directing his path. {And now we have this other little boy...}

What obvious gifts do you see or have you seen in your children and grandchildren? 

Isn't it fun participating in God's plan?