Glamour Glasses

What calm we would instill in others if we were all a little more like Truffles the cat ...

Danielle Crull, an optician in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, rescued a long-haired black-and-white kitten from the forest nearly four years ago, and today that kitty is bringing joy to hundreds of children who feel more confident in their eyeglasses and patches.

Many of the children who come to Crull's practice, A Child's Eyes, have severe problems requiring medications, treatments, and even repeat surgeries, and Truffles helps to assuage their fear of anything coming near their eyes.

"She is literally magical with little kids," Crull said. "The story that happens over and over is a little one is crying and she comes out and I put glasses on her, and they immediately stop crying and laugh and put their own glasses on. It happens countless times, and it's just as sweet every single time."

Truffles chooses one of her specially made glasses to wear each day at the office, and often refuses to let Crull or anyone take them off until she is ready -- sometimes even sleeping in them. For children who are anxious about new treatments, greeting Truffles the cat who is sporting matching eyeglasses is often just the connection they need.

Amblyopia is a childhood disorder in which the brain shuts down the pathways to one eye. When one of our children was discovered to have a lazy eye that was nearly blind, it was a challenge getting her to wear the eyepatch necessary to retrain her brain. To encourage children in Crull's clinic, Truffles often wears an eye patch over her glasses so the kids are encouraged to wear their own.

One Mechanicsburg child who required repeated surgeries to repair a childhood abnormality found encouragement in her regular visits with Truffles: "It was never scary for her to go in there because Truffles would be there," her mother said. "[She] has multiple 'ouchie' appointments is what we call them now, and she doesn't ever want to go, but visiting Truffles is the one single appointment we can go to where she doesn't have anxiety."

For images of sweet Truffles calmly sporting various eyeglasses, look here: Meet Truffles. Can you imagine a world where we each would be Truffles for one another, setting aside pridefulness and hurry to patiently wear whatever is needed to calm an anxious heart and send love to a worried soul? What sparkling purple eyeglasses will you don this week, and who will be encouraged to embrace supernatural peace because of your gesture?

Hear Paul's reminder of the peace of Christ in Philippians 4:7: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

If we expect to bring Christ's peace to the world, we must do more than simply live our lives and hope that others are gleaning something from our example, my friends. If we want to share the peace of Christ, we must be willing to don silly eyeglasses and sit with the patience of a stray cat whose life has impacted hundreds. Are you willing to risk silliness and a little discomfort in order to spread calm over the anxiety of a hurried world?

Peace on your week,

Jennie