Gabriel Sullivan, age 8, came home from school with a freshly completed art project — a paper dinosaur.

But this was no ordinary dinosaur.

This paper dinosaur stood on its own with the help of a special aid rigged by Gabriel himself. He had glued his green creature to the cardboard core of a roll of toilet paper to make his antediluvian reptile stand erect.

And Gabriel loved his dinosaur.

According to his father, Tom Sullivan, Gabriel carried his dinosaur with him everywhere. He placed it on the floor when he was playing. He sat it on the table when he was eating. He even perched it on the back of the couch to have it near while he watched his favorite show and he treated it to a trip to the restaurant when the family went out to dinner.

Dad Tom asked Gabriel what it was that so attracted him to his dinosaur. Gabriel simply responded, ” I made it.”

I loved Gabriel’s answer. It brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart. It made me think of God.

Like Gabriel, God’s eyes are always upon us (Psalm 33:18; Deut. 11:12). We are never out of His sight. We are the “apple of his eye” (Psalm 17:8, Deut. 32:10), the center of His vision.

I am thinking if we asked our Heavenly Father why he keeps us in His gaze, His answer would be the same as Gabriel’s: “I made you,” He would say.

And then He would add “… and I love you; you are mine (Jer. 31:3).”