Bright eyes. You know them when you see them. Bright eyes mean something. They reperesent a soul that is joyful, open, and full of light. They are often found in a person who is friends with God.

A wise man once said that the eyes are the window to the soul. He was right. Unfortunately, bright eyes are not the only type off eyes you will see.

You will see critical eyes. Look through them and you will see a soul that has no room in it. It is closed off to the world. You cannot put another thing in it because it is full of itself. It elevates itself by putting others down. It is the embodiment of hate and distrust. These eyes make you feel judged and guilty.

You will see condemning eyes. Look through them and you will see a soul that feels so condemned itself that it maskes it by transferring it to others. These eyes make you feel worthless and vile.

You will see self-righteous eyes. Look through them and you will see a soul that is crammed full of empty achievements and meaningless accomplishments. Trophies for the pointless. These eyes make you feel repulsed.

But when you see bright eyes your soul soars with hope. Have you ever been in a tunnel? I have driven through the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado many times. It cuts right through the heart of a mountain under the Continental Divide. it is narrow and feels confining. You drive with your headlights on and you don't dare change lanes. And then you see a little dot down the road. it is a dot of brightness. As you near it you realize that it is the end of the tunnel. Suddenly you fly through that little bright dot and the entire world explodes before you. The view is stunning as you look down from the top of this 13,000 foot mountain into the valley below. All around you is space. After being in that tiny tunnel you feel oddly free. There is air! You can breath! That is what it feels like to look through bright eyes. Hope abounds. Your soal takes wings. All boundries melt away into the vastness of the huge world we live in. This is life the way God designed it to be experienced.

God, give me bright eyes. Eyes that see the hope of Christ at every turn. In every moment. In every event. Let me burst out of the constraints of the sadly faithless and into the joy of seeing Your Hand in everything. Don't let me doubt you. Don't let me be mean, critical, condemning, or self-righteous.

I need this, God. I must have bright eyes or my soul will die. It is feeling sickly lately, Father. Please. Brighten my eyes once again.