He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him, saw that he had the faith to be healed. // Acts 14:9
I was walking across the plaza at my university when a young woman approached me and began to speak to me about her group project that I was not a part of. She thought I was Samantha, and I am not Samantha. Once, on an airplane as I walked down the aisle, a man removed his headphones to ask if I am Heather, the former babysitter of his daughters. I am not Heather. I have been mistaken for another woman more times than I can count throughout my life. I have always hoped that it wasn’t that each of us resembled one another, but that these people recognized Christ in each of our faces. I have always wondered if it weren’t our appearances that looked similar, but our joy, our light, and Christ alive within us that did.
Today’s First Reading (see Acts 14:5-18) speaks of Paul looking intently at a crippled man and clearly seeing faith in his face . . . the faith to be healed. When the people I encounter today look intently at me, would they see faith? I am inspired to think about whether or not I live with a countenance of faith—one of hope, one of joy, and one of light. We are people of light lost in a sea of very sour faces, and sometimes—if I am truly honest with myself—I join in far too frequently with a sour countenance about anything and everything, with a face that reflects complaints, frustration, or annoyance with others.
What story is your countenance telling today? Is it the story of the Gospel, of the deep peace that a life in Christ can bring? Even in the midst of life’s difficulties, would those who look intently at you see a face full of hope, a face that reflects a heart set on Christ? Would they see a face that reflects the peace and joy so needed in our homes, schools, workplaces, and families?
Today, may we be women who radiate a countenance of faith, hope, and joy in a world full of sour faces.
Emily Wilson Hussem planned her whole life to become a sports reporter but turned out to be a Catholic writer at the hand of God. The heart of her ministry is offering encouragement to women in living a counter-cultural life of joy. She is the author of two children's books, God’s Glorious Girl and God’s Brave Boy and Awaken My Heart, a devotional for women of all ages. Find out more about her here.
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