This is me and la madre at an event at her church.
When she gave me the picture, I immediately noticed the proptosis in my left eye, a trace from Graves Disease. It appears wider than the right one because it became slightly displaced in my illness and it will always be that way. It registered as a "what's wrong with this picture?" moment, and I pointed it out to Mom. She said, "I don't notice it." I know it's not that noticeable, and most days, I don't see it either unless I am really tired. But in this world full of mirrors, women know their own faces. After years of applying eyeliner and mascara, I know what my brain registers as normal.This woman knows that she used to look ever so slightly different.
Don't we all? I think we get an impression of how we look that is fixed in our younger years: a face that is free of the wear and tear of time. A visage without sun damage, scars, sickness, signs of sleep deprivation, or even smile lines. We all used to look different, and still, we look like ourselves.
The face that I want to see someday is the one that has no traces of being part of a fallen world--the one that reflects the light from the face of Christ. I don't know if there will be mirrors in Heaven (I almost hope not), but that doesn't matter. I know I'll be able to see exactly what I'm looking for in the faces of you and you and you--my friends, my family, my God. We will all look different, and yet, we will all look like ourselves.
When she gave me the picture, I immediately noticed the proptosis in my left eye, a trace from Graves Disease. It appears wider than the right one because it became slightly displaced in my illness and it will always be that way. It registered as a "what's wrong with this picture?" moment, and I pointed it out to Mom. She said, "I don't notice it." I know it's not that noticeable, and most days, I don't see it either unless I am really tired. But in this world full of mirrors, women know their own faces. After years of applying eyeliner and mascara, I know what my brain registers as normal.This woman knows that she used to look ever so slightly different.
Don't we all? I think we get an impression of how we look that is fixed in our younger years: a face that is free of the wear and tear of time. A visage without sun damage, scars, sickness, signs of sleep deprivation, or even smile lines. We all used to look different, and still, we look like ourselves.
The face that I want to see someday is the one that has no traces of being part of a fallen world--the one that reflects the light from the face of Christ. I don't know if there will be mirrors in Heaven (I almost hope not), but that doesn't matter. I know I'll be able to see exactly what I'm looking for in the faces of you and you and you--my friends, my family, my God. We will all look different, and yet, we will all look like ourselves.
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