Watch

"Mommy!  Watch me!"

I wish I would be able to keep a running tally of how many times I hear this throughout the day.  If Noah is doing something that he is proud of, he proceeds to alert me with this catchphrase at least once every 30 seconds while he is going about trying out his new-found skill.

"Mommy!  Watch me!"

"Mommy!  Watch me!"

"Mommy!  Watch me!"

"Okay," I reply.

And then, as soon as he's completed his feat (trying to stand on his head, catapulting his stuffed toy monkey off of a book, sliding across the floor on his knees), I hear,

"Did you see that, Mommy?"

"Yes, Noah, I was watching you."

He wants to be watched if he's doing something really amazing or something totally mundane.  He wants to be watched first thing in the morning and last thing at night.  He wants to be watched at home, outside, at the park, at school.  It is so frequent, it has turned into one of those things where I have to remind myself to enjoy it, rather than be annoyed by it.  Even if I've seen him slide across the floor a dozen times, he still wants to know that I'm watching him for the thirteenth time.

[The Lord] will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore. Psalm 121:7-8

What an image: we don't have to ask God to watch us.  He does so out of his great power and mercy.  Perhaps as grown-ups, we would rather that God not watch our every move, because we know he would not be proud to see some of the things we do.  But he watches us, as a loving dad watches his kids, making sure to warn us when we attempt "feats" that might harm us, and rejoicing when we do things that imitate his heart.

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:17