A Picture of the Heart

I want to share a picture with you.

But this one is going to take a little more work for you to see.

You can't just scroll down the page and look at it.

In fact, you have to close your eyes to see it.

Let me explain.

One evening this week, I went with some members of my Bible study to minister at a youth shelter. It was an experience I will never forget.

Those kids at the youth shelter--they basically have nothing. But they are some of the sweetest, dearest kids I have ever met.

We shared a devotion with them, as well as a snack. And they kept thanking us over and over again--for coming, for the cupcakes, for the juice and chocolate milk, for everything.

There was one girl who said she loved to sing. So we asked her what she liked to sing. And she offered that she would sing for us, if we wanted her to. Of course we said YES!

So later, between rounds of dominoes, she got up to sing. She stood there for a minute, kind of nervous in front of all of us watching her. And then she opened her mouth and started to sing Amazing Grace/Swing Low Sweet Chariot.

And we just sat there in awe. I have never heard a more beautiful sound in my life.

There was this young teen, dressed in shelter-issued clothes, fingernail polish partly chipped off. Her eyes closed and her face filled with the intensity of her song. The high-ceilinged, echoey gym filled with the beauty of her voice. In that moment she was the most beautiful person I have ever seen. And she held me captive, even after the last note faded away.

That is the picture I wanted to share with you.

It may not be a picture that can be viewed on a computer screen or printed and put in a frame. But it is etched on my heart. And sometimes the pictures of the heart are far more precious than the pictures of a camera.