THROUGH THE EYES OF A GODLY WOMAN
by Earnie Larsen

No two minds sees the world the same. We see what we are prepared to see. Our eyes can't see what our minds won't accept.

Last Sunday I attended a church service at the Salvation Army adult recovery center. It was the day for honoring the three kings or magi. To highlight the celebration the two Majors who ran the Center picked three men of their congregation to represent the wise men. One must have been 70 and had twice that number of hard times written in his face. Another was tall and so thin I wondered if he were mortally ill. The third was morbidly obese. His shirt collar seemed to be choking him. All wore ties and clean if mismatched clothes. These men had indeed come a long distance.

Also all three wore golden, cardboard crowns on their heads. They seemed to me to be much like the crowns made in religion class by my 7 year old grandson.

Soon after the service started the three kings walked up the aisle, crowns and all. They then sang the hymn about the kings coming from afar. They sang badly yet I doubt there was ever sweeter music heard in the kingdom above.

Once finished the woman Major who was leading the liturgy beamed. She was thrilled and made a comment about, "these three men who carried off their parts with such elegance." She commented on how "dignified and handsome" they looked.

An image or truth flashed in my mind looking at the glow on her face and the meaning of her words. I thought of the Christ child laying in the manger and how the world might look from his perspective? What did his mind allow his eyes to see? As surely as the singing was off key I saw an all loving and compassionate God looking on these men and their cardboard crowns through the eyes of this godly woman. God two sees dignity and elegance where many another sees only failure and funny cardboard crowns.