I needed new disposable contact lenses so I grabbed the receipt from the last time I ordered some and headed online. I found a website selling what I wanted, entered all my prescription details very carefully, and double checked them before clicking 'pay now'. Then I waited.
A week or so later, a little package landed in our mailbox. “New lenses!” I cried. “Now I'll see better. The world will look crisper and clearer.”
I inserted the small soft lenses and then looked around. And the world wasn’t crisp and clear at all. It was very blurry, and I couldn’t understand why.
And then it hit me: When ordering the lenses, I’d used my husband Andy’s prescription, not mine. I was wearing his contact lenses. I was looking at the world through his eyes.
Andy was very pleased with my ordering mistake. “New lenses!” he said. “What a surprise!”
I had a surprise this morning. Andy gave me a huge hug before he left for work and said, “Happy Anniversary!”
“It’s not our anniversary,” I sleepily replied.
“Yes, it is.”
“Are you sure? Isn’t it on Friday?”
“We got married on my Dad’s birthday, the 24th June.”
I thought about this for a moment and then said, “You’re right!”
Andy laughed. “This is a first. It’s usually me who forgets our anniversary.” He didn’t seem at all upset by my failure to remember. In fact, he thought it was very funny.
So today is our wedding anniversary. Thirty-two years ago, Andy slipped a gold ring onto my finger, and we became husband and wife, and I thought we’d live happily ever after. But it didn't work out that way. Our life together has contained much more suffering than I ever expected. It's just as well I never knew what was ahead of us. I'd have been too frightened to marry Andy if I'd known about the difficult times we'd have to endure. No, as a young bride, I wanted happiness, not pain.
And we have been happy. There's no doubt about that. Over the years, we've shared a lot of fun and laughter and special moments. We enjoy our life together immensely. Yes, God sends us many happy days. But He hasn't prevented suffering from touching us. And unexpectedly, this has been a blessing. It has been the trials of life, and not the happy times, which have bonded us together and taught us the true meaning of love.
So Andy and I are about to begin another year together. The adventure continues. There will be more tough times ahead, I'm sure. But that's okay. There will also be a lot more love.
This morning I had my eyesight tested before ordering yet more contact lenses.
“Your eyes have improved slightly!” said the optometrist.
Improved? I smiled. My eyesight is getting better as I get older, unlike the rest of me which is slowly falling apart. I don't suppose it matters that I'm not as good looking as I used to be. When Andy looks at me, he doesn’t see my flaws. He still thinks I’m as beautiful as the day he married me.
Why don't I see myself as he does? Is it because Andy can't see properly? Perhaps he needs stronger contact lenses. No. His eyesight is fine. I don't see myself as beautiful because I'm not wearing my husband's eyes.
Andy looks at me through his eyes of love.