Seeing the Good

Taking care of eyeglasses sounds pretty easy, but for my nine-year-old son, sometimes the task seems impossible.

In his 18 months of wearing glasses, they have been broken (but fixable) several times, replaced once with a brand new pair, and then broken again—right before Christmas.

I finally made it to the glasses store on December 23, an hour before closing time. I was hoping for a quick fix, an easy adjustment and I’d be on my way.

I set my son’s glasses on the counter. Well, the majority of the glasses and then the broken earpiece. I asked if they could be fixed?

I was desperate. We were leaving town in a few days, and I knew there were no more of his exact frames to purchase. I found that out months before when I had to drive to several stores to pick up the very last pair of his discontinued frames. Please let these glasses be repairable.

The first employee tried to prepare me.

“I’ll try, but these look like they can’t be fixed.”

She couldn’t do it. She called another employee over. He tried for about 10 minutes. His efforts were unsuccessful.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

He gave me a number for a glasses repair place that could possibly help. Disappointed, I put the business card in my purse and started to leave.

“Wait! We have one more person who wants to try. She’s the EXPERT in repairing glasses.”

A bit relieved, I watched the third employee attempt to fix the glasses. After several minutes, she came up with the same answer. My son’s glasses were toast.

But then she had a new suggestion. She wanted to see if any of their frames would fit his lenses. I knew the chances were slim since frames and lenses aren’t really interchangeable. Hopeful, I watched as she popped the lenses in and out of every possible frame in their store. Too big, too small, too square, too loose.

Nothing fit.

Seeing the disappointment on my face, the employee said she could try one last thing. She went to the back of the store and pulled out a surprise box with more kid-sized frames. She reached in, grabbed a possibility, and popped the lenses in.

Perfect.

Hallelujah! I was elated, and a little surprised, honestly. I couldn’t believe she found a new pair of frames to fit his lenses!

I gushed with gratitude, telling everyone that it was a Christmas miracle. Over the top? Maybe—but it felt like a miracle to me.

It was so easy to see the good in this situation. It all worked out! My son got a new pair of frames that fit his lenses like a glove, and we were thrilled.

But what if no frames had fit? What if I returned home with the broken frames, unwearable and unfixable? Was there still any good to be seen?

Frankly, our brains tend to focus on the negative. It’s just how they are. However, we can choose to see the good, even when things don’t work out they way we want.

Three (!) employees tried to fix the glasses. They all worked for several minutes, doing everything they could to complete the repair. One woman kept trying frame after frame after frame…even when it seemed futile to do so.

Regardless of the outcome, there was so much good. There always is.

I really did feel like finding new frames was a miracle. I told my son the story when I got home, and he agreed.

But as time has passed, clarity has come. Yes, I’m grateful for his glasses and the way he got his new ones is freaking awesome! More importantly, I believe that many miracles occur when we see the good around us, even—especially—when things don’t work out.