It has long been a prayer of mine that God would make me aware my children’s gifts and talents. And that He would help me to be a dream cheerleader not a dream squasher. I used to watch my friend, Cinnamon, (yes that’s her real name) and think, “She’s got this mom thing figured out. I want to be like that.”
When my boys were just toddlers, I watched her let her 15-year-old daughter play in a band. She invited that band to practice (drums and all) in her house. And she supported them when they sought out coffee houses and other small venues at which to play. She knew her daughter’s gifts, and she encouraged her to use them. Today that grown up daughter is one of my favorite guitar playing vocalists on the planet. (If you follow this link she might become one of your favorites too 🙂 – My Redeemer Lives)
You may watch my Owen’s two minute Flip Shots video above, and think, ‘Oh that’s cute or funny or whatever.’ But let me tell you what I see.
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I see my boy being creative.
Each crazy shot or backflip is the fruition of an idea that came straight out of his 14-year-old brain.
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I see my boy being physically active.
For every minute of Flip Shot and trick shot footage that makes it onto Owen’s channel, there are many more minutes of attempts that get cut.
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I see my boy teaching himself how to use computer software.
He meticulously plans, designs and edits prior to uploading each new video to his YouTube channel, and his end results can be super impressive.
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I see my boy sticking to it.
He often wears his frustration on his face as he works at those videos until they look exactly the way he wants them to look. I think he sometimes fights the urge to throw the computer across the room, but he doesn’t give up. And that makes my mama heart proud. (I knew that stubborn temper tantrum throwing towheaded toddler would eventually do great things with his strong will if he could be taught to harness it.)
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I see an answer to my prayer.
Owen is good at this. He may not be Dude Perfect, but he’s got vision, and he’s talented.
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I see an opportunity.
I could just ignore what he’s doing. I could tell him it’s not worth his time. Or I could give him my camera, my tripod and use of a nice computer. And I could post his latest video here at Life Reconstructed. And I could get excited as his numbers of subscribers increase. And I could celebrate when one of his videos hits 1,000 views (that happened a couple weeks ago!).
I choose to be his cheerleader, and I’m having a blast 🙂
“We worry about what our child will become tomorrow, but we forget that he is someone today.” – Stacia Tauscher
