Heard Above the Crowd

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

Matthew 5:8

To a stranger with no personal connection to the performance, a school assembly can be an excruciating experience. However, to a parent with a young child who's up on stage, that assembly is like watching a Hollywood premiere!

The stranger may only see is a small, stuffy, over-packed gymnasium smelling like rubber playground balls and #2 pencils. But through the parents' eyes it's the Grand Ole Opry House the instant their child walks out on stage. In the middle of the sea of 3 1/2 foot school-aged stars is the one that bears their name. With razor sharp focus they zone into that sweet, familiar voice of their child all the while ignoring the squeals and squawks of the school's microphones that threaten to drown it out. The last note of the final song is celebrated with the proud, roaring sound of applause from the parents now standing to their feet.

Every day we stand on the stage of the universe, one in a sea of faces with a song to sing. There's distractions, squawking feedback and we wonder, "Can anyone hear us at all?" While singing we constantly search the eyes in the onlooking crowd for the One whose eyes are locked onto ours; the eyes of the One whose name we bear. There's so many eyes! "Where's the One who knows me?" our hearts silently shout. Finally, our gaze is met. There are those eyes that show us how deeply we're loved and lift our hearts to amazing heights. Finally, our heart settles. We're no longer lost in the sea of faces. We've been found, loved just for who we are because we are His, celebrated and embraced.

* Disclaimer: photos taken from public files from the internet.