One of the tenets in my philosophy of life includes this: I came into this world a brunette, and I will leave this world a brunette – that is – as long as I can get to Sally’s Beauty Supply. My husband Bill would tell you that I must have a similar tenet regarding my glasses. I didn’t come into the world wearing glasses, and I consider them to be an increasingly-necessary nuisance.
But you must know I rarely wear a watch; I wear my wedding ring only when I’m in public; I’m not fond of wearing jewelry, carrying a purse, an umbrella, or a jacket. For me, those things are encumbrances and something else I have to keep up with. So I’m not exactly someone who wants to wear something made of metal and glass across my face and balanced on my ears and nose.
I figure that over the last few years, I’ve spent at least one-hundred-forty-seven hours looking for my glasses, not counting the time driving back to a restaurant or a friend’s house to retrieve them, nor the time I’ve spent listening to Bill’s patient comments as he’s assisting in the search — “You know, if you’d wear your glasses, we wouldn’t have to look for them,” or the times he said, “No wonder you can’t see, those are my glasses.” One-hundred-forty-seven hours — that’s almost a week of my life. So I asked myself, just how smart is it to spend that much time looking for your glasses or trying to see through someone else’s lenses?
So, I have wised up. But if you’re thinking I’ve reformed and I’m wearing my $350 trifocals that kept my head spinning and made the floor appear more like an escalator, you would be wrong. I found one of those stores where everything is a dollar right near Sally’s Beauty Supply. One ten dollar bill, and now I have glasses everywhere I need them: bathroom vanity, nightstand, desk, computer, kitchen counter, two pairs on the table beside my favorite chair, and two pairs at the piano. Best ten bucks I ever spent.
It’s important to see, and it’s important not to waste time. As a follower of Christ, I have Light to see in the darkness and I am to view the world through a different set of spectacles — spectacles that I do not take on and off because of my own eccentricities or likes or dislikes or the latest cultural trend — but spectacles that allow me to see hurting, lonely people in a world of need. When that kind of need comes into focus, it reminds me there’s no time to waste.
My “dollar” glasses were cheap, but my spiritual spectacles were costly and yet free. Ponder that for a while.
Image: CC Flickr Garry Knight
