Since I needed a stronger prescription for my glasses, I took my script to a mall vision center that was running a tremendous sale. The woman picked out some frames she thought would look nice on me, but they were all quite large. I couldn’t get her to understand that I needed a smaller size frame since she was focused on the size of the lenses for progressives. I let her talk me into a pair I didn’t like. These frames had to be tightened so much on the nose pads and behind the ears that they were very painful to wear. 

Since I had a 30-day guarantee, I took them back to find smaller frames. This time I was determined to get what I wanted and picked out a color I liked, but didn’t pay attention that they were still too big for my head. Again, I had the same problem of the adjustments being too tight and painful behind my ears. I also took this pair back.

I decided to try a vision center in another store, and these women understood my need for a smaller size frame. They genuinely wanted to help me find a pair of glasses that would fit right, be comfortable, and have lenses big enough to accommodate the progressives.

Even though they were very helpful, the pair I settled on were still a little bigger size than my old glasses, and the lenses were larger. I couldn’t see clearly through them, and went back again. This time we used my old pair of glasses as the standard, and finally found a smaller frame that fit me and had the size lenses I was used to.

As I went through this whole process, I asked God what I was supposed to learn from it. With the first pair of glasses, I let others influence me to accept something I knew was not right for me and I didn’t want. Sometimes we let the world’s influence or peer pressure sway us to make wrong decisions, and these cause painful results.

With the second pair, I was determined to get what I wanted but still made the wrong decision. When we lean to our own understanding, doing just what we want without asking for God’s perspective, our choices are still not right.

For the third pair, the woman genuinely wanted what was best for me. Even though she did her best to help, she picked out frames according to her own experiences that still weren’t quite right. Sometimes we look to friends and family for advice, people who really love and care for us. But even then, their best advice may not be exactly what God knows we need.

Finally, I learned the lesson when I went back for the last pair of frames. The same woman was helping me, but this time she listened carefully to what I really needed. We followed the example of my old glasses exactly to find the precise size frame and shape of the lenses that were tried and true and work best for me.

God alone always knows what is best for us, not the world, not ourselves, or even others who do want our best. We need to make sure to seek God’s perspective and follow what is tried and true, His Word, in order to make the best choices and decisions for every situation in our lives.

Hope Ministries is a Christian counseling center, and we are here to help. If you would like to speak confidentially with someone, give us a call at 845-482-5300.