You'll never be lonely again

Soon after a sad divorce, I joined friends for a weekend at the Lake Pemaquid Campground in Maine. It was no place for a bachelor. Walking down shady lanes between family campsites, I felt totally alone. Praying for comfort, I remembered that God is everyone's real Father, so these families were my brothers and sisters. That's when I came to the play area. Six kids were on swings, trying to go higher. I watched quietly until one asked me to push him. Then the next asked. Finally I was pushing them all. Seemingly within minutes we knew each other's first names. They were from two families who camped together for a week each year. They met at the playground after dark to tell ghost stories. I offered to meet with them and share a tale they'd never forget. Then we parted for supper.

That evening their parents came along to see the "single man" who wanted to meet their kids after dark. They were all school teachers, and when they heard I worked for The Christian Science Monitor, they gladly left their kids with me.  I told the story of Shangri-la, from the movie "Lost Horizon." After returning to their campsites, the kids all voted to pool their allowance and buy me a gift at the camp store. I also bought them gifts. Next morning we swapped gifts and took pictures and hugged, just like a real family, and I said good-bye.

Back at home in the city, I yearned to keep this new sense of family alive. I called the camp office, but without the children's last names, the office could not locate them. To me, they had vanished into thin air, just like my recent marriage. I felt angry with God, and prayed, "Why do you keep doing this to me? You're supposed to be love, so you know you owe me an explanation. I'm going to sit right here until you answer me!" And there I sat, for about 45 minutes, listening humbly and expectantly, but hearing nothing. Then an idea came that was totally new! It cured my sorrow and changed my life forever. Here it is.

YOU THINK YOU SAW SIX FACES ON THE PLAYGROUND. IN FACT, YOU ONLY SAW ONE FACE. IT WAS MINE, THE FACE OF LOVE. FROM NOW ON, WHEREVER YOU ARE, ALWAYS LOOK FOR MY FACE, AND YOU WILL NEVER BE LONELY AGAIN.

I hurried outside to look for the face of love. I saw it in a grocery store cashier, a gas station attendant, my barber, and many colleagues at work. Looking for God's face, the evidence of love, kept me so busy that I forgot to be lonely. One night I shared this story with friends at church. A new member saw God's face in mine, and I saw God's face in hers. She had two daughters. They were not twins, but they both had God's face. This year we celebrated our thirty-something anniversary, and we're still grateful to see God's face many times each day.