Finding Hope in a Radiant Face

FINDING HOPE

IN A RADIANT FACE by Timothy D. Sprankle

We all have customdesigned faces: fearfully and wonderfully made, definitive and unique. This means despite feeling invisible, we are often recognizable.

Ialways selected a study table on the second floor of Morgan Library next to a window. I liked the natural light and signs of life visible through the glass: verdant lawn, budding trees, flitting birds, and students walking across Grace College campus. Most importantly, the view gave me a vantage point to spot her face. I could locate it from two hundred yards away. Her face was radiant. Her name was Liz. Eventually, we wed. The face is a remarkable subject of study. For the most part, every face boasts two eyes, two ears, one mouth, and a nose. Fortytwo muscles control countless facial expressions. A layer of skin covers the skull and interlocking jawbone. Hair sprouts from the crown and brow and, perhaps, the cheeks, upper lip, ears, nose, and chin. Within this basic framework of common features, an infinite variety of faces emerges. No two faces are exactly alike. Even identical twins have distinctions—moles, birthmarks, wrinkles, and scars. We all have custom-designed faces: fearfully and wonderfully made, definitive and unique. This means despite feeling invisible, we are often recognizable. Surprisingly, this fact remained true during a global pandemic, when half our face was concealed by a thin layer of cloth. Our eyes don’t lie; nor do