Through the Passenger Window

Clear and brilliant. Blue as the sky. Full of kindness. They seemed to pull me in, say hello and smile at me all at the same time. They twinkled like two stars that had dropped from the sky. Those blue eyes that met me on the passenger side door were something I’d never seen before. I rolled down my window to get a better look.

Never had I seen such love or kindness in a pair of eyes. I wondered “what might he know that I don’t know?” It was such a thing that they affected me deeply. They embraced me. They surrounded me. They filled me and touched me at the same. It was as if the soul of this man was on display for all to see, right there on his face. But his soul didn’t just sit there, it reached for me. It pulled me in and caressed me with gentleness. It was if his soul could reach deep inside and hug me. His eyes seemed to say everything I needed to hear without uttering a word.

My heart seemed full as he looked at me. It was as if he knew me. I was filled with wonder by the thought. How could looking into someone’s eyes tell you so much? Yet, I knew he loved me. But how could he? He had only just met me.

I had never met a man like James until that day. I had never met a man that loved God so much that it showed in his eyes. A man that did what God called him to do, love God and love others. But he did just that and it showed in his blue eyes. Without a word I knew this about him. I was changed by his presence from the moment I looked into those big blue pools. He was a man true and loving that stood tall in the face of trail. Although his face was weathered from time and adversity, his eyes told me everything. He was a man full of love. He was a man full of God’s love. So full of God’s love that it spilled out all over me.

James was my father-in-law. He taught me a lot from that very first meeting. Not with words but with his heart. He has gone to smile for Jesus now, his time here on earth is done. But I will never be the same because of knowing him. If I had only been blessed with that one encounter, I would still be forever changed. He said everything I needed to hear that very first day as I looked in his eyes. He said, I love you and he meant it.