I was looking through some old photo albums the other day. I had already looked through them many times before but I felt a sudden urge to see those old pictures again. I found myself reliving so many beautiful memories from my childhood. There was my dear Nana giving me a bath when I was a baby. There was me and my brother standing in front of the world's ugliest Christmas tree. There was my first dog: Duke snuggled up next to me on the couch. There was my beautiful Mom holding me on her lap. Then all of the sudden the pictures seemed blurry. I realized that the pictures were blurry because my eyes were moist. Tears were dripping down my cheeks. I wiped my wet eyes and wondered what was going on. I hadn't cried the last time I looked at those pictures. What was different now?

I soon saw that it was I who was different. Since I had last looked through those photos I had grown. My empathy had risen. My compassion had strengthened. My spirit had walked a little further down the path of love. I realized too that wet eyes were nothing to be ashamed of as long as they came with a warm heart. I smiled and closed the photo album up once again. I felt Mom and Nana smiling down on me from Heaven. I felt my Heavenly Father's love inside of me and all around me.

Leo Buscaglia once said: "I'm not afraid to cry. It cleans out my eyeballs." I think it cleans out our insides as well. It helps us to wash away our pain, fear, and grief. It helps us to reconnect to our love, goodness, and oneness with God. It helps us to become who we were meant to be. The next time you feel your own tears starting then just let them flow.

Life is full of smiles. Life is full of tears. Only by allowing them both can we truly live. Only by embracing them both can we truly love.