Thursday, April 7, 2011

New Glasses

I got new glasses in January -- and although I like how they look, I have been miserable since the day I got them.  They don't fit me well at all.  I've been back to the eye doctor's office for adjustment after adjustment after adjustment -- and they just can't seem to get them right. 
They leave deep impressions on the bridge of my nose and it feels like I've got a sinus headache from the pressure they cause. 
Yesterday, I decided I had had enough -- something had to change.  I was going to put my foot down this time and insist that something be done because they just can't make these things comfortably sit where they're supposed to sit in order for me to see through the correct portion of the progressive lenses.
So I traipsed back down to the eye doctor's office for the umpteenth time, ready to stand my ground. 
I was getting out of the car when these words resounded in my head...
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we modeled Christ in such a way that the world's attitude was, 'I wish all my customers were Christians' or 'I wish all my employees were Christians' or 'I wish I had a Christian boss'...
You see, we're going through The Truth Project with a small group on Sunday evenings and that was part of the message we heard on Sunday night.
Sitting in the waiting room to be called into the glasses area, I was struggling with how this would all play out.  In my mind I was expressing my doubt to God that if I were kind and nice this probably wouldn't end that way I had hoped.  I was sure I needed to get "firm" with these people for that to happen.
The door opened and GG (Glasses Girl) called my name.  As soon as our eyes met, she said, "Oh, you're back again?  You mean that last adjustment didn't work for you?"  In the kindest tone I could muster I said, "I'm done with these things.  I don't know what we're going to do, but these glasses are not working for me." 
To my surprise, she immediately offered to order a new pair of glasses for 50% off -- and she mentioned that she could do this without even talking to the doctor.  So very nicely I replied, "Well, what could you offer if you did talk to the doctor?" 
I certainly didn't feel I was entitled to 100% reimbursement; after all, I did choose these things -- but then again, they are the experts and it seems they maybe should have noticed that these glasses weren't sitting where they needed to sit when I picked them out.  We would just have to talk to the doctor to find out. 

In the meantime, I asked if it wasn't possible to use the same lenses in another set of frames.  I told GG that at this point, I really didn't care too much what the glasses look like - I just want to see without pain.  So she started pulling some frames that would use the same lenses and after two or three tries I felt we had picked a winner.  It seemed we were both happy -- no need to buy new lenses and at the very least I would get different frames for 50% off.
The doctor was in the middle of an examination, so while we were waiting, GG decided to go "pop" my lenses out of the painful frames and put them into the new frames - then we would see what the doctor was willing to do.
A few minutes later,  GG appeared with a very strange look on her face. 
Her pliers slipped. 
She broke one of the lenses and the frame is 'too tweaked' to repair.
I'm without glasses for a week, but I'm getting new glasses. 
At no extra cost.  
God's way is always better than my way. 
And I'm hoping that I was so kind and pleasant that she wishes all her customers were like me. 

1 comment:

Melissa Ens said...

I love that story Aunt Colette! That goes perfectly with what I was thinking yesterday... about Col 3:17 - doing everything in the name of Christ to the glory of God. I had to keep asking myself - can I have this attitude in Jesus' name? To God's glory? What a test! Good job on how you chose to be and yay for God for rewarding you!