Her Eyes

Photo by: Joey Jennings

“Will you dance with me?” Eight year old, Evelyn took my outstretch hands and bashfully danced and laughed to my uncoordinated leading of swings, twirls and skips – transforming the plain concrete surface of the empty feeding center into a picture-perfect dance floor.     

The joy in Evelyn’s eyes captivated me from the time of our arrival.  Joey, James and I had traveled with our friend Mundo on a food delivery trip for the rural village of Naranjo, in Guatemala.  This feeding center’s director had received a letter a week earlier from a religious group within the city that threatened to take her life if she continued to serve the children – this strong lady is Evelyn’s widowed mother.  The three of us were able to pray over this threatened leader, but there was a familiar beauty to her daughter’s smile that stole my attention for much of our time.

Selfless love is not only displayed, but also easily read in the eyes of its giver.  Its words go beyond description, but if I could sum them up, I would say that eyes of this love clearly shout, “I am here for you!” to their beholder.  I believe this degree of selflessness is unattainable without first encountering the source of love face to face.  When we see the love of God towards us, we cannot help but mirror it to those around us – it is contagiously received.  I have seen these loving eyes on a number of occasions, through the faces of friend’s I am honored to know; but on the face of a child, there was an entirely new sense of pure wonder.   

As I headed back for the truck, I could not leave without making mention of what I had seen, and so I stopped before Evelyn and explained, “You know God.  I see it in your eyes,” and her loving smile confirmed every word.