Casandra Martin

It was a playing day. A little friend spread his smiles among the members of my family. We played ball, shot baskets, had races, tickled, hugged, and laughed. In the midst of the fun, my son suddenly got a smile on his face and ran upstairs. He came back with a plastic box filled with little cars.

The cars are treasures from years ago. Tucked in the back of his closet, he saw them through the eyes of our little friend. He handed the box to his buddy and waited with anticipation. The reaction was worth the wait.

“WOW!” echoed across the room. Excitement erupted and laughter bubbled over. A whole tub of cars provided enough smiles to fill many hours.

Wonder kept him glued to the box. Each car was worthy of an exclamation of delight. My kids were bored with the cars after a few minutes. They looked at the wheels and shiny colors and shrugged their shoulders. Not our little friend. He examined each one with great care. “Awesome!” “Cool!” and “Look at this!” rang out as he demanded our attention. Where our eyes glazed over at the sight of so many cars, he found joy in the details.

God is more like our friend than me. God never tires of delighting in the personal details of each individual. Our eyes may not notice, but His heart never stops exclaiming over the ones He loves. Too often, I stop looking at faces and just see masses of people. I miss the beauty, the unique ways God is working in each life, and the preciousness of each soul. God never does. He holds each one in His hand and smiles.

My Jesus Resolution today is to look at others the way God looks at me. I want to see the value in each soul. I want to find the beauty in each heart. I want to notice the way God is working in each life. I want to see Jesus in the faces of those He loved enough to die for. I want to extend grace to those on the journey. I want to smile and share God’s delight in discovering the uniqueness He has planted in each person.