Older But Wiser

January 6th, 2010 |

Over the holidays I returned to “old stomping grounds” in New Albany to visit my friend and optometrist, Dr. Terry Joslin.  Terry and I struck a special chord during my days as pastor of First Baptist.  He is a PK (pastor’s kid) and I consider him one of my “forever friends”.  However, this visit to New Albany wasn’t merely a social call, but rather a professional one.  It was time for an eye exam.  After catching up on the family news (which got him way off schedule for the day), he checked me out and told me what I already knew – my eyesight was getting worse.  That is why I am now wearing a pretty cool looking pair of titanium progressive glasses with transitional lenses all the time.  I have been using reading glasses for years, but I am now putting these on in the morning and leaving them on until bedtime.  Everything is clearer and now I wish I’d done it sooner when Terry had offered.  For some, vanity might be an issue, but not for me.  My greatest concern was not how they would make me look, but rather how they would make me feel.  My eyes are pretty sensitive.  I can put on a new pair of sunglasses and have a headache for weeks every time I wear them.  Kathy bit the bullet last year and it took her about three weeks to get used to her new glasses.  So it was fear, not fashion that caused me to procrastinate.  However, I finally faced my apprehensions because I was tired of not being able to see and constantly reaching for reading glasses that I had scattered all over the place.  That’s how I ended up at Dr. Joslin’s office with his assistant placing new glasses on my head and telling me that I would hate her at first, but once I got used to them, I would love her.   So I braced myself for the inevitable, that by the way, never came.  I can’t explain it and can hardly believe it, but I have not had any problems getting used to these things.   Now I am not saying that if you are willing to face your fears, there won’t be some bumps in the road or headaches along the way.  But I am telling you that facing them can mean the difference between going through life foggy or a little better focused.  Take it from old “four eyes”, seeing better is a good thing.

Older but wiser,
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