Psalm 103:1-4, 13-18
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Philippians 3:7-14
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
One Saturday morning last spring, I was in the kitchen by 7 a.m. grilling hot dogs for a tailgate party. It was going to be that kind of day: lots of events, in near and faraway places, at different times, throughout the day and night. And 7 a.m. was the only time to grill the dogs. I decided to put on the movie Les Miserables. Throughout the morning, the rest of the family traipsed in and out of the kitchen, scrambled to and fro piecing together uniforms, gathering water bottles, printing directions, and coordinating carpools. Somehow, while Anne Hathaway sang the tune containing the truest words ever joined together, “…to love another person is to see the face of God…” we found ourselves all there together. Our six heads were practically touching as we crowded around the 9” TV screen. When the scene ended, we slowly looked at each other and saw that tears covered every pair of cheeks: the two middle-aged parents preoccupied and frantic to make each of the day’s commitments, the young boys with Gatorade bottles in hand and nerf guns in tow, and the two teenage girls with boys on their minds and texts piling up on their phones. All at once, God’s love grabbed us and gave us that moment.
We traveled around the world three years ago and visited more than 30 countries. As one dear friend promised us before we left, we saw the face of God over and over again as we toured together and did not have the tugs and pulls of life at our heels every moment.  God’s face was a beautiful thing to see in different places and people on this globe, but God’s face and His love is every bit as gorgeous to see reflected in our kitchen.  

– Carrie Garland