“I Know Your Face”
Quite recently a very dear friend suffered the heartbreaking miscarriage of a child. She was devastated by this loss of life and it got me thinking about my own miscarriage some 23 years ago of our first child and how distraught I was. My husband, Terry, and I were not Christians at the time, and though we still felt the loss keenly and knew that we were not destined to be able to hold or raise that particular child, we merely comforted ourselves with the hope that more children would be in our future.
After we became born-again followers of Christ over three years later and after the Lord had blessed us with four fine sons, I would occasionally contemplate whether or not the child I miscarried had been a boy or a girl. I, like so many who have lost children to tragic early death, stillbirth, miscarriage or abortion, wanted also to know where the soul of that child was. I had some questions that only God could answer. So, I went to the most logical place, His Word. I found these words penned by David in Psalms 139, “You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb…My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.”
While this baby was never seen by Terry and me, he was seen by God. While his frame was hidden from us, he was not hidden from God. Even while his body was unformed, God knew him. Vs. 16 reads, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before I lived the first one.” We often see death as untimely, or early – but God is always in control. We are surprised, He is not. We grieve the loss, but heaven welcomes our beloved one home.
In the last movie of the Lord of the Rings trilogy “The Return of the King,” there is a scene where King Théoden lay dying of wounds suffered in battle, and his daughter Eowyn runs to his side. As she leans over him, he fixes his eyes on her, touches her face and in the midst of his shock and pain, his bearded face breaks into a smile, his eyes brighten, and he says, “I know your face!” He experiences great joy at the appearing of his child. Jesus will do no less!
We grieve over the loss of a child whose face we never saw, whose form we could not recognize, but think on these things…when that baby’s eyes were opened for the first time, they saw the glory of God! When those ears heard for the first time, they heard angels rejoicing! When those lips opened for the first time, they sang out in praise of God! The first person to ever see that little face was Jesus, and His bearded face broke into a smile, His eyes brightened, and he said to our child and to every one who comes to Him,
“I KNOW YOUR FACE!”
~by Bonnie Laughlin