Faces

When you have a baby you soon learn that there are many people who love babies and will take every opportunity they have to hold one.  Sometimes I'll be at an event and never hold my baby myself except for when he's hungry or needing a diaper change.  On one occasion not too long ago a lady from church was holding Kenneth, and I overheard her talking with someone standing nearby about how babies' faces are so fascinating.  They both agreed that they could just stare at a baby's face all day.  Then one of of them added jokingly that you can't do that with older people, because staring at people like that is kind of weird.

That conversation I overheard has stayed with me.  I agree, there is something very special about a baby's face. They are so young, so new, taking everything in for the first time with big eyes, or sleeping with a peace that most of us have forgotten.  But babies aren't the only ones with fascinating faces.

Think about children.  Bundles of endless energy, they run through life with an infectious enthusiasm.  Every emotion is given their all and expressed with abandon - whether shrieks of laughter, cries of frustration, or affectionate bedtime kisses and cuddles.

Young adults' faces have a different kind of beauty; a fascinating tension and conflict as the idealism of youth meets the challenges of the world and they fight to keep their dreams alive.

Seniors have beautiful faces too, filled with years of memories, both joyful and sorrowful.  Their eyes carry a wisdom that only age can bring, and every wrinkle tells a story.

Every age and stage of life has its own beauty.  Indeed, every person's face is beautiful, formed by the artist hand of God and shaped through every experience and moment on this crazy adventure we call life.  We may joke about how it's awkward, but really it is a shame that we don't look at others' faces more often.

The more we look at peoples' faces, the more we see their worth and beauty.  Just think of how the faces of your loved ones appear to you, though they may not be counted as "beautiful" in the eyes of the world.  Perhaps we should take more time to look at the faces of those who are different than us - who are from different cultures, different classes, or different ages, as a way of seeing beyond those differences to who they are as a person, and the great worth that they have.  Perhaps we will see them in a way that we haven't before, and learn to love them better.

Let's be the kind of people who see the value in every face and in every person that we meet.