You have likely heard the story of a little girl who sat down to draw, and when her teacher asked what she was going to draw, she said, “I’m drawing a picture of God.” 

“But, honey, no one knows what God looks like,” the teacher said.  To which the little girl replied, “They will in a minute!”

I was reminded of the story during my recent Contemplative Living Group meeting when we were asked to talk about our “images of God.”  When I shared the little girl’s story, our group leader said, “Oh, maybe we are all like that.  When we are asked what God looks like for us, maybe we can say, ‘Well, give me a minute, and I’ll show you.’”

I remember when I was first learning to pray as a child, I had so much trouble with the idea of talking to someone of whom I did not have an image.  I now know that this had less to do with my spiritual-development, and more to do with my human-development as my brain had not yet ripened a theory of mind.  (Consider how some children respond when you hand them a telephone.  They look at the handset and lack the ability to comprehend that it is merely a tool for communication and not the focus of the interaction.  Click on the link if you’re interested in this fascinating piece of developmental psychology.)

But now I do have an image of God.  And if you will give me a minute, I will share it.

God looks like you.

I see God in others.

I don’t mean to imply, as some do, that everyone is a god.  I mean that I see God accompanying spiritual beings as they experience this thing we call humanity.  I see God in their laughter, their beauty, their eyes, their kindness, their love, and in their thinking as it is expressed through conversation, inspiration, and revelation.

This necessarily means that I also see God internally, within Self.

Often, I am told that my spaces exude peace, and that my work demonstrates the Divine.  I like that, and I most humbly embrace the remarks not as compliments, but as a recognition of that Supreme Light that miraculously causes my Shadow to disappear, and my faith to be realized.

And now I have a minute.  So will you tell me your image of God?