Encountering Sacred Moments

I didn't know when I walked into my brother's art studio I was about to encounter a sacred moment. On the pedestal was a mother sitting in a chair. Across her lap her adult handicapped son was draped.  The man was not able to speak; he had a palsy that contorted his face and body. My brother was sculpting him. My brother is an artist who not only was looking at the bone structure of this man, but seeing the value of his soul. However, it was the mother's face that forever touched my heart. She was glowing because my brother, the artist, had really seen her son.

Yesterday I took my 91 year old mother-in-law to have her hair washed. She was unable to walk from the handicap parking to the hair salon, so I got a wheel chair. When I got to the salon I was grateful that I had gotten the wheel chair, because there were no seats available. A van of mentally handicapped adults filled the room. On every wall was a poster of a beautiful smiling model. Beneath the posters sat an assortment of beautiful souls trapped in bodies that the world would never see as beautiful. Their care giver, however, did see their beauty. She spoke to them with kindness and respect, and I felt again I had encounter a sacred moment.

Many years ago a friend and I led the youth group for our church. My friend worked in the mental health department for our county, and she thought of a wonderful project for our youth group. We planned a dinner for the mentally handicapped adults in our community. The youth group planned a puppet show and a dinner. During the preparations we also educated them about how to relate to people who were different from themselves. Not long before the event was to take place, a beautiful 13-year old girl's mother died. She still wanted to be included in the activity. I watched in amazement as she tenderly cared for others. I saw healing happen both for her and the adults she shared with.

My daughter has begun working in a local jail. She is working with women who are much older than she is and many who have been in and out of jail for most of their lives. When she talks about them, her face shines. I asked her what she sees when she looks at them and then, I smiled when she told me. She said she tries to see beyond were they are so that she can see who they are.

Thank You Lord for loving me. Thank You Lord for knowing who I am. Thank You Lord for seeing me, it's so easy to get lost these days in the shuffle and the noise. Lord, help me to take the time to see the people You place in my life. Help me not to just look at the external but to look at who You made them to be. Thank You for the sacred moments of my life when You bless me with the gift of seeing others trough Your eyes.