Face of Christ

           When we think of all the things that enter our lives, how often do we look for God

Himself to speak to our questions or fears?.  I personally remember the day that I was lying

down for a nap.  It was my oldest daughter’s birthday and my son Michael was playing

baseball outside  in the street in front of our home.  I was in a deep sleep when there was a

loud commotion that woke me up.  My daughter came running into my room and following

her was Michael, bleeding at the mouth.  I jumped up, afraid to look for fear of what I might

find.  Michael had been hit in the mouth, directly where his two permanent teeth in the front

were.

          Everyone was upset and I had to get my bearings before I could let it sink in what had

happened .Apparently my son was standing in back of the catcher, when the friend saw the

ball coming and stepped out of the way, leaving Michael right in line for the full impact. I

asked the children what happened to the missing teeth?.  They said they were probably still

in the street. I told them to go and get them, which they immediately did. I got a glass of milk

and dropped them in the glass. I had heard that if you keep them in milk they may be

re-attachable .

            We jumped into our car and rushed the distraught young boy to the local hospital. 

When we arrived we gave the necessary information and were told we would be seen soon.

 We were visibly upset and very anxious for the doctor to see him and do what they could

for his hurting mouth and missing teeth.  We were there for quite a while when we were told

that a heart attack patient came in and was put ahead of everyone as far as priority . 

Although this was understandable we were upset by the delay.  I began to think that we were

in the wrong place, we really needed to be in the dentist office.  I called our dentist and he

said that he was ready to leave but because of the emergency nature of the situation, he

would stay and immediately prepare for surgery. I told him I had the teeth in a glass of milk.

           The dentist and his assistant took control when we arrived and whipped Michael into

the room he had prepared for the surgery. Bob and I sat in the waiting room full of sadness

and fear.  Because Bob and I believe that God is in charge in all things, I sat and prayed for

God to

bless Mike and help him through this.  I was looking down toward the rug and as I asked

God if Mike would keep his two upper front teeth, the rug took on the appearance of the

face of Christ and I saw tears roll down His beloved face and I knew that to save them was

hopeless.  The face in the rug gave me great peace because I knew that God Himself felt

grief and I was prepared for what happened next. The dentist came to the door, told us that

he had done all he could, but they could not be saved because they were knocked out

clean, which he explained meant that the roots were still in the gum, which he had removed. 

The reason they could not be re-planted was then obvious. The milk submersion was futile. 

In our haste we did not even think about the roots all we knew was that we had the actual

front teeth.

 In all the confusion Kathy’s birthday was completely forgotten. After some time when Mike’s

mouth healed, we had some false teeth put in, but they were not permanent.  This is

something he did on his own many years later. I have to admit that Mike has always been a

fine young man and the teeth missing took nothing away from who he is, but when it

happened it was a family trauma.  We think about it, not as a tragedy anymore, because of

the way Mike handled it.  We do see it as a beautiful way that God communicates with his

worried and concerned children.  The face of Christ was God’s way to allow me to see that

God Himself was sad at what happened and it gave me great solace  that the God of the

entire universe was concerned about me and my child to the point to show me His grief.    

      Most of us want some consolation when things go wrong.  God is always waiting for us

to approach His throne of grace to get answers to our many questions.  Prayer is the way

we question God, seek advice, or just adore Him for who He is.  Whatever reason, pray

about everything, for God waits for a word from His children.  I for one have great joy when I

hear from God.  It keeps me centered on who He is and why I need Him so much in my life. 

The above example may seem to many to be curious, but to me it is the way I live and the

answer God gave sent me into a period of praise and worship.  God is good and He proves

it all the time.  I hope you and He are such good friends that the experience  I just told you

may be or may become a life experience for you also.