Faces

I was walking out of a coffee shop this week when I caught a bit of conversation coming from two young mothers with six month old baby boys. How could I not stop for a moment and admire those little faces? Conversation happened easily and naturally and I walked away with a warm heart as I know I encouraged them in their new motherhood fears and they touched me in my need to act as mother and grandmother.  I was a face of experience and compassion and wonder. Wonder as in awe of new life.  We talked about how there is information overload that is producing fear and because of books and the internet, the voices of their mothers and grandmothers and aunts are being hushed because they are not versed in the modern ways of childbearing and child raising. Also, often mothers and daughters are separated through miles of geographical landscape and the presence of an older and wiser woman is lacking in their daily lives. I walked away from that encounter cheered in my own heart and I know they also felt more hopeful that they were doing a good job as new moms.

Recently I heard an African storyteller who was speaking in the United States. He began by addressing a certain quandary that he had encountered when a man from Chicago was baffled over the fact that his emails were not being answered promptly by an African associate. Through a broad smile and with patience he began to tell this irritated man why he wasn't getting results through email. Besides the fact that most Africans do not own a computer or a text messaging device, he explained that their whole culture is based on oral tradition. Writing simply has not replaced the spoken word. Writing is tedious because many have not had the schooling that we take for granted and there has not been a premium set on the act of writing.

He began to tell about campfires in the village where he grew up and how the elders would gather them around and teach about life through story after story. The stories were often very funny and colorful and the young listener was able to use his vivid imagination to put himself into the story itself. As the years rolled by the children became the elders and the oral tradition was again passed to the next generation.

Where parents may have been considered as valuable as a book, the grandparents were considered to be a library. This was where the wealth of information was stored. So whenever a grandparent passed away they say that a library passed away with them.

Another factor in oral tradition, is that the story teller has to be present. Again, there aren't gadgets to digitally record voices. You can look full into the face of the story teller and see their eyes light up or see their brow furrow or watch a tear turn into laughter. The spirit of the person is sensed through their very presence.

In his village when there is a wedding, there are no invitations sent. Everyone is welcome and the more the merrier.  When there is a funeral, everyone attends. Now that he is married and living in a larger city, when he goes home to visit his parents his mother begins to tell him who has passed away and how he must go and visit the bereaved family. He knows he is under time restraints and is there to visit his own family but the mother is insistent that his presence is vital to the well being of the grieving family. And so he goes. He doesn't go to stay something profound, he goes because his very presence brings the ministry of life.

How often do we stay away from something because we don't have anything to say, or do, or provide. He told of how he has watched people on their deathbeds light up with hope and joy by the very presence of someone taking the time to visit. How often have I said to myself that there is no reason for me to be somewhere. No one will miss me. I'm beginning to see in a clearer way how wrong that thinking is.

In my computer program for photos and even on my camera there is a feature called Face Recognition. Somehow if I take pictures of my friends frequently enough, the computer knows how to differentiate between faces and will automatically tag the person in my file.

Tell me that a new born baby doesn't look around until they see the face of their mother. The presence of that face soothes the child as they recognize mama.

Facebook is also extremely popular now. I know there is a whole sociological and psychological explanation for this phenomenon that I can't begin to decipher, but I do know that we like to see the faces of the people that we know and love or that we want to know and be loved by. I think the name should be changed to "I Love Me Pages" in the case of many people. Everyone gets to be their own paparazzi and star of the show. Many people go on face book just to be a voyeur. They can feel connected from a distance but feeling connected is definitely part of the deal.

What is it about faces? If I were to present to you a slideshow of faces you would watch with a certain amount of interest but as soon as you recognized a face there would be a quickening inside of you. Somehow emotion would be evoked, whether negative or positive. Like it or not, some faces represent unhappy memories, or a face that looked you in the eye and rejected you with words and body language. Faces are powerful.

Isn't it something that we will never see our own face? True, we have mirrors and photographs but we can never gaze into our own eyes except virtually.

God has a Face. The word face and the word presence are the same Hebrew word. You cannot see someone's face without being in their presence.

This Sunday I will be speaking at church and am hoping to have developed this idea of God's Face into a sermon. I am quite enjoying looking into the Scriptures with this theme in mind. I know I am only scratching the surface but I look forward to continuing in the next couple of days meditating and pondering this thought.

Just look at 
THIS FACE.

It is my joy to announce that I will be seeing Little Lola's face on Sunday as Gina is coming to town to attend a wedding. This was taken a month ago. Just think how quickly the little face will have changed. It's always amazing to think that no matter how old she'll get this is the seed form from which everything will be fashioned.