The Glory of God In A Smile

I could watch that boy smile all day long. We will call him Sam, for safety's sake. He had the most gorgeous smile and beautiful eyes I ever saw. All it took was someone calling his name, and he would light up in a genuine smile.

He is a camper at Camp Barnabas. Can't walk, talk, and he can barely move. He has a pretty severe case of cerebral palsy.

But he could smile.

It's when his face lights up that I remember that God is glorified. And that He doesn't make mistakes. Sam might seem like a mistake to some people. But, when you look at his gorgeous smile, its impossible not to realize that God is being lifted up every time Sam smiles. His creation is being shown off.

Sometimes, I think we have to look for beautiful things in life. We get so caught up in what is bad about the situation or thing that we forget to look at the beauty. If we dwelled on the fact that Sam is confined to a wheelchair, we would forget to appreciate his smile. Isn't that how everything is in life? If we focus and fret about the heat, we forget that the plants around us wouldn't be there without the sun's rays. If we focused on the thorns of a rose, we would forget about the beauty RIGHT THERE in front of us.

I admit I'm so guilty of doing this. I focus on the bad too much when I need to be more positive. When we rejoice in the little, happy things we are bringing glory to God's name. Whereas, fretting about the bad, would be injuring the reputation of the Lord - saying that God isn't doing it right and His work isn't good enough for us.

Sam taught me this. His smile reminded me that everything that proceeds from God, is perfect. Something to be delighted in.