Joyful Eyes

Hey, you.

Yes, you. You with the ready smile hiding your tired eyes.

We need to talk.

I've been watching you. I've been watching you for a long time, and I've been noticing something lately.

You've changed.

Change is good, and you need to know that. You have grown, and you should rejoice in that. Don't be discouraged. You've made progress. You aren't a kid anymore, even if you feel like it sometimes, and that's good.

But you've changed, and not all for the better.

You're not a child, true. I said that was good, and it is.

But not completely. Look at your eyes. I'm not an expert at eye color, so I won't tell you what color they are, but I can tell you something.

They aren't as happy as they used to be.

Why?

I've been observing you, and I think I know.

When you were a child, you thought everything was good. There were bad things out there, but nothing that had much to do with you. Why shouldn't you be happy? You didn't realize people don't always get along. Life was good.

But when hard things came into your life, you stopped. You didn't know what to think. You knew you should be happy, but how can you be happy when you're tired?

And by that, I mean sad.

I want you to understand something. Life is good.

It is. It still is, even when it's not perfect, even when it's hard.

Life is good when you discover that your friend messed things up. When you learn that the leader you admired stepped down because of an affair. When your favorite people move away. When people you love don't like people you thought were good. When two people you respect disagree. When you suddenly have to make a decision for yourself as you have never before and life is so confusing. When you feel the confusion and no one understands.

Even then, life is good. Life is worth being happy about. You need to regain the simple trusting joy of your childhood.

[By the way, something else I want you to know and never forget: the illusion that no one understands is an illusion. True, no one ever understands anyone else really, completely. But people understand what you're going through much more than you think--and if they don't, it's probably your fault. For not trusting and being open. And you know there is Someone who does understand, completely.]

Friends are good, worth having and enjoying, even if they fail, even if they end up hurting you, even if you won't be friends forever.

Differing opinions don't matter that much. I see you, hung up on them. Wishing everyone would just agree. Listen, kid. Differences are good. As a quote I found recently said, "If two people agree on everything, one of them is unnecessary." Don't let differences-yours or other people's-make you think less of others.

You need to know something.

You must not live in fear.

Yes, time goes on. Things change. What you have now, you will not have later. But do not borrow trouble from the future.

Little ones grow up. Your relationships will change. All of them. Because you're changing.

Change is normal. Change is good.

Don't let it steal your joy.

Conflict is normal, too. On earth, there is sin. People will fail you. You will fail others. The more you care about something, the more it hurts when it's not perfect, and nothing here is.

Don't let that keep you from caring.

And don't let it make you cynical. You're a positive person, or at least you were. You can see the best in people and accept them the way they are.

Don't let disappointments or other people's ideas of reality change that.

Don't lose faith in people or become negative. Don't judge other people for criticizing. We need those people too. But that's not you. You were meant to be an encourager. To be joyful. Don't let others' negativity make you doubt whether you should expect good things.

You should. True, things won't be perfect. They don't have to be. That's why we're waiting for heaven. Down here, we accept imperfections. It's okay.

Accept that, smile, and move on. Don't expect things to be perfect or to happen the way you imagined, not even close.

But expect it to be good.

Life is messy. That's okay. Everyone is different. You are different. There really is no one like you. That's okay. It really is. In fact, it's good.

And don't say that it's certainly good the world doesn't have to deal with more than one of you. I know you. I know that's what you're thinking. But I want you to know something else, and I want you to know it well.

You are good. Yes, you're sinful and wicked and selfish to the core. So is everyone else, but God made you and He loves you, and He doesn't make mistakes.

Stop putting yourself down. You're a child of the King. He has good things for you. He has a purpose for you. You know that. Why won't you believe it?

Have confidence. I'm not trying to be a motivational speaker with some meaningless drivel that has emotional impact. But there is a reason it has emotional impact. You can do whatever you put your mind to, you are valuable, but only because of God. Your confidence should be in Him.

You know Him. I know you do. You know what I am telling you. But you keep forgetting! You keep living as if you don't expect Him to bless you! As if He isn't enough, and you need something else to comfort you.

I can't figure out if your eyes are green or gray - and I don't think they're really blue - but I smile and will the joy that comes from confidence in Christ into them as I gaze into my reflection.

That is, I beseech God to give it.