Heavenly Angles
“Yuk! Take another one! My eyes were closed! I wasn’t smiling! I look fat! Do I really have that double chin? This time I’ll open my eyes, smile, turn to the side, suck in my gut and raise my chin. Just one more… promise!”
I love the ability to take pictures on my phone but I HATE having my picture taken!
One day my daughter snapped my picture during one of our Saturday “Shaker Dates.” (It’s an afternoon when we get an original “Shaker” iced coffee at our favorite coffee spot, Boulder Creek.) She posted the pic on Facebook and the next day several people walked up to me and said, “You looked so thin!”
Boy did I go back and study that picture! I’ve concluded it’s impossible to re-create! It’s almost calisthenics to find my best angle. But I do know that a step or two away and holding the camera higher helps big time!
As that notion settled I thought- God must always be looking at me from my best angle! It’s true isn’t it? He doesn’t need an Instagram filter. When my Heavenly Father looks at me He sees me through the filter of Jesus-through grace.
When He looks at me:
He sees His child – My daughter can’t take a bad picture. Ashleigh is beautiful to me- inside and out-every day-all day. When I look at her I see love-my heart outside my body! How much more does our Father love us!
He sees my potential – I imagine God allowing me several do-overs to get it right. “Let me move you over here,” I hear Him say. “Smile! Chin up! Stand tall… Look at me.” God knows what He has placed inside me. Every whisper, every nudge is to draw me to His best!
In the movie classic, “Tootsie” Dustin Hoffman plays an out-of-work actor who dresses as a woman (nails, makeup, girdle and all) to get a part on a popular soap opera. During Hoffman’s screen test, the producer and cameraman have the following exchange: Producer: I’d like to make her look a little more attractive. How far can you pull back? Cameraman: How do you feel about Cleveland?
God challenges us to take the same grace He shows and extend it to others- to see His children- to see their potential. If necessary, be prepared to pull back to Cleveland!