Psalm 119:97-120 or 81, 82
Genesis 45:16-28
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Mark 6:13-29
“When you look into the eyes of the one you love, you see the face of God.” This is my favorite quote. It sums up my feelings of love and my belief in God. When you hold your child in your arms—as a tiny baby or as a growing teen—looking at their sleeping face or looking into their eyes, you feel their love, you see their grace, you get their unbinding love.
This is the same way I see God. I see Him through my children, through the love of my partner, through peaceful breezes on a spring day, in the sounds of laughter at a dinner table filled with friends and family. It’s a hard concept to grasp really, and one I didn’t, until I sat holding my first child as she faded off to sleep. Children are the vessels of God’s love. No anger, no hate, no prejudice.  It was then I realized our children, family, and community all are the face of God.
I grew up thinking faith and belief were interchangeable words, but they are different.  You can believe something based on knowledge or scientific fact, but your faith is just that—accepting a truth without having concrete evidence, without being able to touch or see it for yourself. But I can see God through my faith when I look into the eyes of the ones I love.  It gives me inner strength, happiness, fullness of heart, all of which I receive from my faith in God.
Life is not easy, but difficult times help me appreciate life’s fullness.  I have endured tough times, sickness, the death of loved ones, unfair moments when I just couldn’t imagine taking on one more thing, but instead of asking God “why did You do this to me, or let this happen?” I look at the ones I love and see God’s love and strength with loving arms open wide, eyes of comfort and acceptance there to give me strength.
“There are no coincidences and no accidents in life. Everything big and small is for a reason…” – unknown

– Brandon A. Montgomery