Monday, September 10, 2018

Looketh on the heart.

Yesterday at church, a lovely woman came up to me 
because she wanted to tell me a story.
I noticed she had some facial burns or at least obvious pain 
in her face because it was swollen and red.
To me, it looked--well, it looked familiar.
I've been a member of our church congregation here in NC long enough now
that I know pretty much everyone, but I didn't recognize her.
She told me she was just visiting our congregation. 
She told me that earlier, she wanted a photo of her in front of the church, 
but that the only person around to take her photo happened to 
be a young man (Oliver) who was watching his younger sister (Lottie)
in the foyer of the building.
She walked over to the boy to ask him to take her photo, and before 
giving him her camera, she apologized for her "weird-looking face."

In the hallway of our church, she told me that Oliver 
confidently took the camera from her and said:
 "It's OK--it's not the first time I've seen that.
It's not a big deal where. Do you want to stand over there?".

She told me she was confused at his response but seemed 
visibly relieved as she shared the rest of the story with me.
She was having some procedures done, which caused
her face to look different than what she was used to seeing in the mirror.
To me (and Ollie), it wasn't that big of a deal,
 but it was new, scary, and super embarrassing to her.
I love Oliver's transparency. I love his honesty,
and I love his heart.  
I am reminded of the beautiful Bible scripture in Samuel:
 "The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the
 outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
The world will be better if we can do that for each other.
Then I told her that she couldn't have picked a better kid to take her
picture and what a good boy he was.
 We talked about the tender mercies 
our loving Father in heaven extends to us each day- small and big.

Sometimes I think about the accident and all the pain and suffering
I experienced, and when something like this happens, it makes
it's all worth it- a million times worth it.
Also, I receive lots of questions about where
I get my girl's Sunday dresses.
A LOT of their dresses come from Roolee Boutique.
They are modest, comfortable, and darling.
And while I am here, I'll answer some other questions.
1. YES, Lottie wears shoes to church. She always takes them off 
as we leave the building. She's just a free spirit.
2. YES, the boy's shoes fit them.  
They just look gigantic because of the angle of the photo,
ahhh, thanks for asking?
3. As a personal way of keeping the Sabbath day a little more holy 
and different than every other day of the week, 
I don't share or tag anything in our
Sunday #afterchurchnies photos.






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