The Face of Love.

Several hours after I gave birth to our most recent child, I was finally getting out of the hospital bed to get cleaned up.  It had been a rather traumatic birth and I had needed that time to hold my new son and let my body rest.

I lifted off the hospital blanket and slowly eased my way to the edge of the bed.  I felt like a deflated balloon with no strength, stiff and sore, my tummy covered with stretch marks, both old and new.  The very first thoughts that came were of shame, weakness and ugliness.

BUT

I quickly countered them with my own--

how proud I was of my body, nine long months of discomfort and pain, all that it had endured to bring this baby in to the world.  What a miracle and blessing.

Yesterday morning while sitting in bed nursing my baby, I caught a glimpse of myself from across the room in our bedroom mirror.  My messy bun had reached a new level of messiness, my two-day old mascara was amplifying the bags under my eyes and my shirt had spit up on it.  By the world's standards, in that moment I was far from beautiful.  Yet as my gaze turned towards my son, his eyes lit up and he paused to smile.  To this sweet baby, so new from God's presence, I was far from disheveled.

I was the face of love.

This is the face that greets him with a smile in the morning.  This is the face that lovingly talks to him throughout the day, calls him handsome & sweet and tries to make him laugh.  This is the face that is near when he's nursing, being held close and warm, that kisses his cheeks dozens of times a day. This is the familiar face that helps him feel safe and loved in an unfamiliar world.

A few years ago the deceptive thoughts, so strategically & stealthily suggested (so their origin goes unnoticed) seemed true.  But oh how far they were AND are from the truth.

This week our family was studying in the bible and read the Lord's prayer.  As we mentioned needing daily bread and nourishment, we asked what is was that nourishes our spirits.  The thought came that it is TRUTH that feeds our spirits.  Truth is what will illuminate our path, remind us of who we really are and give us the strength & courage to move forward in an unsure world.

I invite you to take a look at yourself and seek the truth of who you really are, not as reflected by the world's standards, but by God's.  What does He see in you?  What does He love about you?  What gifts has He instilled in your heart?