The sign read Elephant ears, Churros, Funnel cakes.

I had just finished a burger and fries and my wife Sherryl and I were strolling along Navy Pier on Lake Michigan when I noticed the sign. It had been years since I had eaten one of those fried “looks like a serrated wooden dowel with sand stuck to it” pastries. I gave in to my sweet tooth and decided I wanted one.

I stuck my head into the tiny opening of the stand and said, “I’d like a bavarian creme-filled churro, please.” With a defeated tone in her voice the girl at the counter said, “Two dollars, please.” I reached into my wallet and pulled out a five. As I handed it to her, I noticed her head was cocked to one side. As she handed me the churro and the change, I could see why.

She had tried to hide a deformity that had twisted one side of her face. I felt awkward and only glanced at it  for a moment and then our eyes locked.

Her eyes seemed to speak, almost as if they were telegraphing her thoughts. They seemed to say,”You think I’m ugly, don’t you? Everybody thinks that.”

I took the churro and change, and said, “Thanks,” at a loss for works. I wish I could have said something profound, to cheer her up. But I was taken aback.

As Sherryl and I continued to walk, I realized a lesson from the churro girl’s sad eyes. Everyday we look into the eyes of others and think, at least subconsciously, “I wonder what this person thinks of me.”

When that happens the Enemy wants us to tell ourselves, that we are ugly, stupid, fat, incompetent, unloveable, etc.

The One, however, who gave His life for us wants us to think of ourselves through His eyes.

I hope my brief encounter with the churro girl will remind me that I must see myself as Jesus sees me.

And, I must see others as He sees them.