I See Me In Your Eyes

Photo Credit:  kakisky from morgueFile.com

As moms, we know that if we want to get our children to talk to us, we needn’t look farther than our very own bathroom.  We know the drill all too well.  We just “need a minute,” so we quietly escape and lock ourselves in the potty room.  Three whole seconds later, there are tiny fingers reaching under the door, nails screeching down the door, and the sound of a clothes hanger jiggling in the door, all in a gallant effort to get to Mom.  Gotta.  Get.  Through.  That.  Door.

It’s always the same…”Mom, I have something very, very, VERY important to tell you right this second.  It can’t wait.  Mom?  Mom.  MOM!  Are you going number one or number two, Mom?  Are you almost done?  Mom, talk to me.  Please answer, Maaaahhhhmmmmmm!”

So, I get that many kids are instantaneously eager to share their heart and soul as soon as a mom’s derrière hits the porcelain chair.  And, that is also why I’ll overlook the fact that this little moment I’m about to share happens to take place in a stall at a public restroom.  Sometimes moments don’t happen when and where we expect them to.  THAT, I am certain of.

I had finally taken my youngest daughter to see Disney’s Frozen last week at the movie theater.  I mean, I didn’t want to rush into anything.  It had only been playing like, since November, right?!  She had been asking to go ever since I took her older sister and a friend back in December.

So, we made a special day of it.  We got there early, meaning we watched the previews before the previews and she was almost ready to leave by the time the movie actually started.  But, I digress.  I wasn’t expecting a crowd on Frozen’s last day at the theaters, but I did consider that there just might be others hitting that “last chance” showing too.  Well, there were indeed others.  Six others to be exact.  So, we had plenty of seating options.

However, before we even entered the theater, we took a trip to the potty.  After my daughter went, it was my turn, so it doesn’t surprise me that she immediately started chatting since I was, in fact, in the bathroom.  “What are we going to do tomorrow?  What does heaven look like?  Can we go swimming?  Why does it rain?  Can we get popcorn?  How do birds fly?”

Suddenly, she stopped, just as abruptly as she began.  Standing one inch in front of me in a tiny stall, she gently cupped my chin with both of her precious hands and stared into my eyes.  (All the while, my quads are trembling trying to hold the squat position just so I do…not…touch…that…pot.)  With the glare off of the bathroom lights at just the right angle, she saw her reflection…in my eyes.  She said, “Mom.  Mom!  This is so amazing.  You should see this.  I see ME in your eyes!”

Yes.  That was a moment for me…oddly enough, in a stall at the movie theater restroom, but a moment nonetheless.  Here is one of my children, who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside.  Here she is, standing in awe, saying that she sees herself in my eyes, in the sweetest voice known to man.  There was so much in that simple statement really because I see me in her eyes too.

As we watched Frozen side by side that day and belted out that catchy tune, “Let It Go,” I pondered a bit more about what she had said.  Don’t we feel proud when we see some of our own good qualities shine through in our children?  And, don’t we cringe when we see the not-so-good personality traits and behaviors creep out of them too?

There is another someone special who wants to see Himself in our eyes.  His name is Jesus.

Two songs come to mind when I think of Jesus and desperately wanting to be an example of His love to others.  One of the songs is “Let Them See You in Me” by the JJ Weeks Band.   The words that move me are, “Let them see You in me.  Let them hear You when I speak.  Let them feel You when I sing.  Let them see You…just let them see You in me.”

Another piece of inspiration that captures my attention comes from a line in a song by Matthew West - “God, why don’t You do something?”  He said, “I did, I created you.”  Many times we complain and beg God to do something about all of the turmoil and negativity in our world.  In the song, God replies to His children…that’s why I made you.  I love to think about that and the incredible opportunity we are given each day to share His love and to do something with the gifts and talents He has given us.

Do others hear God in what we say?  Do others see God in what we do?  Do others feel God in what we write?  Do others get a glimpse of God’s love just by looking in our eyes?

Just as my young daughter told me in the bathroom stall - “I see me in your eyes,” we can put an epic smile on our Lord’s face each day if He is able to tell US, “I see Me in YOUR eyes.”

We can do it, Sunshines!  Have a wonderful week!