I have a secret skill.

My skill is stealthier than a Ninja and stronger than Superman. It seeps into the smallest crevices. My skill is so powerful it impacts lives.

I bet you are wondering what my super skill is. It’s watching my grandsons build Legos. “Ha Ha,” you say. “Funny.”

No, I’m serious. It started when each of the three were toddlers. We sat together and made incredible towers. I handed them Duplos when the tower got so high they had to stand. They felt confident and happy. So did I.

When they each reached four or five and received their first actual Lego sets, my skill progressed to sorting pieces and sometimes helping interpret directions. As with Duplos, we visited about everything in their world while we worked. They beamed with pride at the finished Lego masterpiece.

My youngest grandson, Reuben, still allows me to sort for him. “Grandma, you are my very best Lego sorter,” he declared last year. At nine, I am not sure how much longer he’ll allow me to do so.

Charlie and Levi long ago reached the age where they no longer wanted a sorter, and I progressed to watcher. I sit. I watch. They build. We sometimes talk and sometimes we are silent together. I let them know how amazed I am with their Lego skills, and other life skills. I let them know how much I love spending time with them and how proud I am of them. They think Grandma doesn’t really know how to do anything. But they don’t know about my secret power.

How do I know my powerful skill still works? Yesterday I got to pick thirteen-year-old Charlie up after school. Usually he grabs a snack and disappears into his room. But yesterday he grabbed a snack and headed to the dining table where Lego pieces covered the space. I sat to watch assuming he’d soon tire of Grandma.

After half an hour I said, “I’m going to watch until you finish one leg and put it on (he was building a mech). Then I’ll head home.” He finished the leg and set it on the table. The penny didn’t drop.

He started and finished the second leg. “I have to figure out how to put both legs on at once.” I watched as he manuevered the two legs onto the body at the same time. It still didn’t dawn on me what he was doing.

“OK. Time for me to go.”

“No, Grandma, you said you’d go when I had ONE leg on. I have TWO on. You can’t go.”

Whaaaat? He wanted me to stay longer? My heart warmed and I stayed. An hour later he got sidetracked by his brother just as he started the last bag. A few minutes later, “Charlie. I’m heading home now.”

He instantly ran back to the table and picked up the Legos. . “There’s only a little bit more.”

Oh. Got it. I stayed until a completed mech graced the table with a proud grandson next to it. My heart filled with the warmth of knowing our bond remained strong in spite of him growing up.

God has a secret skill like that. He joins us as we begin to build our lives and He hands us the provision we need. When we graduate to harder life situations He sorts out what is important and supports us in interpreting good choices. Finally, He watches. He talks with us, and is silent with us. He lets us know He is proud of us, and pushes us to grow in areas we are weak.

God’s secret power is love. Lego watching is the secret skill of love in action. Nothing is stronger than building relationships through the power of love, especially God’s love. I bet you all use the same secret skill in your world. We are a super hero team, God and all of us. Let’s go.

What’s your secret skill?