Beep! Beep! Beep! My arm swung over to my dresser and grabbed the alarm clock that had awakened me. I shut it off and pulled it to my face to see the hands pointing to 6 O’clock. Slowly I reached over and put it back down. I threw my covers off and swung my legs out of bed. I stepped over my still snoring beagle and stumbled into the bathroom. Then after I was done I walked back into the bedroom and started to get dressed. Something seemed off, though. Things didn’t look quite right. Everything seemed fuzzy and out of focus. The world around me looked both blurry and scary. I rubbed my eyes thinking something was wrong with them. Then I realized what it was. I hadn’t put my glasses on yet.

I wish I could say that this was the first time this has happened, but it isn’t. Too often in this life I have rushed through my day, deprived myself of sleep at night, and woke up the next morning with a drowsy mind that wasn’t working quite right. Still, I can laugh at times like this and use my forgotten glasses as a reminder to take better care of myself.

There is another set of glasses, however, that I try never to forget. I try to remember them no matter how tired my mind and body are. These are the glasses of love. They help my heart and soul to see things clearly. They help me to see just how much God loves me. They help me to see how much I can love as well. They help me to see just how beautiful this world can be when we all love each other. They help me to live as I was meant to live. They help me to make this world a better place. And they help me to become the person God wants me to be.

Without love this world can look fuzzy and out of focus. It can seem blurry and scary. It can look alien and threatening. Yet, when you see through the eyes of love the world becomes warm and friendly. It is God’s world. It is a world in which everyone is your brother or sister. Put on those badly needed glasses of love then. Let yourself see things clearly. Let yourself live a life of love, vision, and joy today, tomorrow and forever.