I’m having a little trouble writing this article — not because I don’t have anything to say, but because I’m trying out a new pair of contact lenses and there is much adjustment to be done. I cannot wear hard lenses — I’m delicate (yes, you may giggle) and hard lenses hurt very much. They were difficult to put onto my eyes, very irritating when they were eventually in place, and even harder to remove. For the three days that I actually tried them, I cried/teared constantly.

But, my vision continues to worsen. When I wear my pop-bottle-lenses in my conventional glasses, people t-a-l-k s-l-o-w-e-r to me. The response is measurable. So, I much prefer contacts. But, “they” don’t make soft/pliable lenses strong enough to correct my vision for distance sight. What was I to do? Miracle: there is a new hard lens (so my prescription needs can be met) with a soft lens skirt (so they aren’t irritating on the surface of my eye). Eureka! I can see again! Almost. There’s something about the way the lens fits and refracts light that is taking some adjustment. Two weeks, they said, to let my brain adjust to the new way of seeing. OK, it’s been three days…

I remember the first time I wore prescription glasses. I was traveling with my family past the dam on the Platte River near Columbus, Neb. The road across the dam was lined with those orange street lights. Everyone else in the car could, apparently, see the individual lampposts. I could see only a fuzzy orange glow. So, I remarked, “What a pretty sunrise.” That got my parents’ attention! They had perhaps suspected that my vision was not perfect, but this incident make it clear that I needed help.

And so we visited the optometrist. Dr. Grey tested, as doctors do, and wrote out a prescription for me. After a few days of waiting, Dad and I went to the clinic to pick up my new baby-blue-with-silver-glitter glasses. They were beautiful — I was beautiful wearing them!

And when we walked outdoors, an amazing thing happened. When I looked at the trees, I could see the shape of individual leaves on the branches. I could see cracks in the sidewalk. I could see the facial expression of my family and friends. The world was no longer a blurry blob of fantastic colors. I found myself looking at everything around me with a new perspective. Details mattered!

“Be thou my vision.” It is so easy for us to lump people together into blurry blobs — by color or by shape or by ability or by education level or by gender. We can me them look like the massive green trees I used to see. Nothing extraordinary. Nothing in particular to which we should pay attention. But we are called to see God’s image in every face. We must look into the eyes, the hearts, the souls of each of our neighbors and see the details that bring clarity to their personalities. Each one has a story. Each one has a unique place in God’s plan. Each one is a neighbor whose life and situation and story impacts our own.

Open your eyes. Let God’s love be the lens through which you view the world. It is a beautiful world!