Is pride clouding your vision?

“But I’m too young to wear reading glasses!” I whined at my eye doctor. “Isn’t there another alternative?”

My kind and very competent doctor patiently explained to me (again) that the changes in my eyesight are a normal part of the aging process and that reading glasses are the solution. I then went on to ask him why I don’t see anyone else my age wearing reading glasses yet if this is all so “normal.” He chuckled a bit as he replied that most people don’t start using reading glasses until about 10-12 years after the time they start to need them. “People are too proud and vain.” He encouraged me to get an inexpensive pair of readers to try.

That was two years ago.

I did eventually get a pair of readers to try and they worked like magic, but I felt very self-conscious wearing them. It’s kinda silly. I started wearing glasses when I was six years old, and contacts when I was fourteen. I’m very accustomed to needing corrective lenses in order to see. But reading glasses? No way! So I went back to squinting a lot and holding things at arms length in an attempt to focus better. I would even ask my kids to read stuff to me! Recipes, washing instructions on clothing tags, ingredients on packages of food… it was pretty ridiculous.

When I went back to the eye doctor a few months ago, he asked how it was going with the reading glasses. I told him that they worked, but I didn’t like wearing them. He laughed, told me to “get over it,” and use them already.

As I was driving home, I came to the realization that my pride was keeping me from having clear vision. I should be thankful that there was something I could use to improve my situation and stop thinking so much about aging and what others might think.
 

I began wearing the glasses. And my vision immediately became clear. What a fool I was to let pride get in the way.

Is pride clouding your vision today? Perhaps not in the literal sense, but maybe in regards to your life vision?  Do you need help but pride is getting in the way? It’s okay to ask for help. Life is too precious, so let’s not waste one more day blurry and unfocused. Think about what would help you develop a clearer vision for your life and then go for it!

“It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.” ~Helen Keller