Thursday, March 7, 2013

Waiting

  We shouldn’t be such complainers about waiting—yet we are. Just think back to the last time you were put on hold on the phone…

Jay dragged himself to the truck and fell into the passenger side. “This is the worst sore throat,” he said. “Did you call the doctor?” “Yeah, I can’t get in until 4:30 on Monday. Being Thursday afternoon, my response was “That’s ridiculous!”

As soon as we got home, I called. Maybe at least he could get a strep test.

Our doctor of 20 years just switched offices and has only been back in business this week. I’m sure there was more than the normal backlog. When someone finally picked up my call, her immediate response was “You’ll need to hold. There are several others before you.” Then came the long wait.

Jay was waiting to take off his shoes to see if we were going or staying. I was feverishly searching for the volume button on the phone, thinking, “They’ve obviously not done any research on the effects of music on one’s attitude or this is a subtle way to get people off the line.”

Jay coined the term “ignore” several years ago for phone situations like these. So, I stated—several times—“I’m on ignore,” as my impatience grew.

Finally, a voice came on the line. After briefly explaining Jay’s condition and asking if another doctor was available sooner, she politely responded, “Oh, while you were on hold, I had a cancellation for 9:15 tomorrow that I’ve not put back into the system yet. Would that work?”

“Yes, yes, that will work great. Thank you so much.” And as she made the computer updates for the appointments, I said, “It must have been Providential” to which she agreed.

Waiting is frustrating. Waiting on God can be down right grueling. Waiting when in dire need is beyond description. But often, good things come from waiting. Waiting on God is usually when God is working where we can’t see it, and there is always purpose. I know that; I don’t often live that.

I should be more patient.

…now there is this Amazon issue of little William’s birthday gift being “out for delivery” for four days that I need to deal with…

No comments:

Post a Comment