The Face of God

At Dayspring on Friday, two confirmed members were welcomed into the community I live in. It was one of the most touching ceremonies that I have ever witnessed. It reminded me of how I am involved in this community and how important it is in my life.

There was a part of the ceremony that nearly made me cry. Both of the members who officially joined after many years of living in communities and they were able to tell stories that have formed their life here and changed them. The story that touched me in a familiar way was one that Wendy told. She spoke about waking up in the morning in the house where I now live to come up the stairs to see the face of God.

In the past years the face of God has changed between her experience and mine. The core member who welcomed her in the mornings has since passed away. The one who greets me in the morning still shows me the face of God.

I wasn't a morning person before moving to L'arche last summer. I really hated them most of the time actually. I dreaded the process of waking up because I usually collapsed into bed only a few hours earlier. And I was a teenager. Technically I still am now, but I feel as though I have aged at least ten years in the past one, so I'm really not anymore. It has also been a process of waking up to see someone who completely loves me whatever my faults are. When I walk down the stairs in the morning, I see some who smiles and welcomes me. I see the love, the completely unconditional love, that I am offered by God every day. I get reminded of how much I am loved most especially when I'm not perfect, like the mornings when my hair is in about twelve thousand different places and all I want is a shot of caffeine.

I get so lucky in the job that I hold. I get the chance to see the face of God every day. I'm not always able to recognize it, but sometimes I am. I get to bask in love that is unconditional and perfect for all its imperfections. Life is not always easy here, but there is no better place to be.