His Face, His Hands

Have you ever prayed, with all your heart, to see God's face? I have. Even though I knew I would never see His physical face on this earth, I have still prayed it. I prayed it fervently 'cause that's how intimate I wanted to know Him. It's like looking desperately through a crowd for a loved one that you haven't seen in a long time. You think, "I know I will recognize Him when I see his face...even just a glimpse."

What I have learned since praying those prayers is that His face, His hands can be found in the love of others. When we came home, a precious friend of mine had organized a weeks worth of dinners to arrive at our house each evening at 5:30 pm. The meal deliverers were given precise orders to drop off the meal, keep kids in the car and not to hang out. Now, that may seem harsh but it was well appreciated.

Each day, I made sure that whoever was coming in got to see the newest member of the family and of course, our older children were there to say, "Hello!", too. It was good for them, for all of us, to be able to say hello to these dear friends who gave so willingly of themselves. And, the food was amazing.

We also had help from two of my sisters without whom I am not sure we could have survived the week. I am just being honest. That first week home was terribly H.A.R.D.

I wasn't sleeping. The baby was screaming frequently. Yes, screaming. She screamed so loud that I would stuff my ears with tissues because it hurt. She wailed when she couldn't understand. She was inconsolable. She was scared. She was confused.

But she had to cry. I had mentally prepared for this but living through it was, as it usually is, very different. Her fits and my lack of sleep proved almost unbearable.

That's when His hands and His face were shown clearly -- through friends and family who surrounded us with gifts of time, love and meals and without whom we would not be where we are today. Thank you!