When I was in fifth grade, the chalkboard became harder and harder to read over the course of the year. I tried squinting, pulling at the corners of my eyes and eventually sitting in the front row for every class. My teacher said something to my parents, and I found myself in the chair at the eye doctor’s, while he slid lenses over my face and asking, “Better one or better two?” With each choice, the alphabet on the wall became a little more readable; two weeks later, I went back to the office to pick up my first pair of glasses.

Wow — what a difference those made! When I first put them on, it was almost dizzying. Everything was so crisply defined and bright — I could pick out individual leaves on the trees instead of seeing a vague green blur. Everything looked closer, as if they’d zoomed up to my eyes. When I got back to school, I could see the board from everywhere in the classroom, and read the clock so I knew exactly when the bell would ring. It was like experiencing a whole new world.

In this month’s cover story, you’ll meet Mitchell, who gives children and adults with vision problems the wonderful experience I had as a child — the gift of seeing clearly. Mitchell is a prayerful man who sees his work as a vocation. His gift is the ability to look at the world differently than some of us, and see what it needs. And then he steps up and fills that need. 

All of us are called to do the same thing by virtue of our baptism — if we allow Christ to work in our lives, he can help us see the world differently, help us see himself in the faces of every single person we meet. Through the lens of his love, we recognize those people as our brothers and sisters. And when we acknowledge that we are family, we can love even those with whom we might disagree.

How does this happen? Through prayer. If we pray daily for God to open our eyes and hearts, he will. But we have to desire it, to have the longing to see the world through his eyes and grow closer to him in the process. Like getting a new pair of glasses, it is so worth it — it is like a glimpse of heaven. Let’s all pray for that gift, and that our journey in FAITH continues.