A Portrait of Love

A few weeks ago, I was in Florida doing some work (is it possible to call going to Florida work?) for a youth conference with which I have been involved for 30 years. I have done this so long, I see kids of the kids who were in my youth group!  Anyway, I rented a mini van and my brother, John, my son, Eliot, and his friend, Jacob, headed out. (I confess that after this trip, I now want a mini-van, and do not see why people have conspired to hate on mini-vans so! They are utterly useful.)My daughter, Anne Rachael, had already been at the conference for two weeks before I got there. We had seen her off from a family trip to New Orleans, and as when we headed home, she headed to Florida to intern for three weeks.So on the Saturday we were driving down, I started getting text from Anne Rachael. She may be a young woman of 22, but she is still Daddy''s Girl! It was obvious that though she was having fun, she was ready to see her Dad. After arriving and unloading the mini-van I had fallen in love with on the drive down, I saw here coming toward me. The look on her face was one I have seen before from my wife and my other kids, but it never gets old, and never ceases to move me. She looked at me, and the look on her face was one of utter delight. But then, as I walked toward her, her face lit up even more because I think she saw the same look of delight on my face. And as she did, it took her delight to new heights. And as I saw her delight in my delight of her--there was even more joy! The joy meter between us was going off the scale. We were both caught up in a spiral of delight and love.You ever experience that? I hope you have humanly speaking, but what about with God? What if you knew his face lit up with he saw you? Well, it does, and this Sunday we will look at a story that so moved Jesus, so lit his face up, that he said, in effect,  "People will be talking about this until I come back!" You don't want to miss this. Blessings, Jim