“Life is a train of moods like a string of beads, and, as we pass through them, they prove to be many-colored lenses which paint the world their own hue, and each shows only what lies in its focus.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I was a kid I thought that an optimist was someone who fitted you for glasses.  In a way, I wasn’t too far off.  An optimist is described in the dictionary as someone with the tendency to expect the best and see the best in all things.  In a way, the optimist has a tendency to clear up your vision.

As hard as I try, my rose colored glasses often get fogged up or smudged.  I can’t always see as clearly as I would like to.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just wash away the stuff that gets in the way of our perfect vision?  One of the problems with being optimistic is that we are often setting ourselves up for disappointment.  It would be great if we could wake up each morning with the hope of a perfect day, but this isn’t a perfect world.  We start out with good intentions, but someone or something often gets in the way of making those dreams come true.

We may set our goal to make a difference in someone’s life, only to face a day with a difficult child or an aging parent.   Our intentions may include being an encourager and suddenly we are brought down by a difficult problem of our own..  We may wish to look for the best in someone only to be put down by that very person.  Our heart may be set on being a better listener, but our ears our suddenly filled with other distractions.

My God has made it possible to view the world in a different way.  He looks at us and should see nothing but filth and ugliness.  The smog and pollution that covers the earth is nothing in comparison to my sin.  However, when Jesus died on the cross He cleaned up every last bit of the poison that infects my soul and yours.  Because of that, we can look at the world in a different way.

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” I Corinthians 13:1.

Call me a cockeyed optimist.  Call me a dreamer.  Call me a redeemed child of God!