"I'll be right there, Grammy..."

Tyler has loved the flip pictures since he was just a little guy. Until this week, the turn-around display has been in the family room -- the general gathering room for visits . So I was surprised to see it on the table next to my bed. But Tyler knew exactly why it was there.

"I brought it in here," he said, "so that when you miss me, you can look at my picture and I will be right here. Isn't that great?"

Of course, he had captured exactly my passion for pictures. They are a way to make cherished memories live across distance. My walls and wallets and tabletops and bookshelves are full of the gifts of pictures.

At the essence of Lent--and the Christian life--is one central precious picture: the life of Christ. Our picture of Christ is not a photograph. The words of the four gospels paint us the picture, then blessed and confirmed by the personal presence of Jesus in our hearts. At the core of that picture is the sweet promise my grandson voiced: "When you look at my picture, I will be right there." More vivid than a photo, the picture of Christ comes alive in the words of the gospels and speaks individual comfort and challenges reminding us that Christ is right here, understanding our struggles and giving us hope. There need be no missing the picture of Christ. God has placed it where we can get it whenever we need light and inspiration and help.

The rotating pictures of my grandsons are going to stay right where he put them. It was his four-year-old way of wanting to reassure me he was still there when he went back home. And the deepest stream of that sweet love is in Christ who, after He went home, said, "I will be with you always...even to the end."