put your love glasses on

I got my nails done yesterday.  It was one of those squeezed in, last minute, let's get this in kind of appointments.  I really just wanted to sit and read a magazine, completely decompress and let the vibrating chair bounce me into submission.  It's me month right?  That sounded like a good plan.  Marta had other ideas for me.


She was a sweet Puerto Rican, full of life, full of spunk nail girl who would not let me relax.  She proceeded to tell me ALL about herself...in a very quick, hard to understand accent.  All about her life in the states, and her two kids in Puerto Rico who just didn't want to come to Virginia, so she left them with her mom.  They are 5 and 12!  Huh?  I didn't pry even though I was very curious.  As I lifted my magazine back up to my eyes Marta would start again.  Finally after several attempts to veg, I tossed it aside and I listened to her talk about her weekends clubbing with her girlfriends while her husband is on business.  I listened to her talk about what movies she liked, what food she cooks, what her best friend in Puerto Rico does for exercise.  I listened.

Something clicked as I listened to Marta.  This is going to sound simple, but it's revolutionary.  What if our real mission in life is to be like Jesus??  WHAT??  Can you see it?  The skies are opening up...bells are ringing.  I just stumbled onto something BIG!  What if it's not about surrounding yourself with people like you, but opening yourself up to strangers and letting them in...people completely 100% different than you, people who you have absolutely nothing in common with, people who make you laugh and look at life differently.  What if it's not about surrounding yourself with mirror images and those with common interests, but just the opposite?? 

I'm not sure why, but for some reason alot of the people here are just that for me.  What if instead of holding "differences" at arms length I'm to embrace them fully and let these people wiggle into my heart and in the process show them love....HIS love.  I can feel it.  My love glasses are starting to come out.  I'm tired of squinting at the sun.  I'm fully ready to sport my new look and it's got hearts and glitter and sparkle all over it.

Have a blessed day.

365.  freshly painted nails

366.  letting down my guard

367.  giving my time with nothing in return

368.  little chick was invited to a b-day party

369.  fergie all volumized from her bath

370.  sticking with my diet and feeling wonderful

371.  alicia..."the little sister" i didn't know i needed