Impatience

 

I am sitting in the waiting room after a 20 minute wait to register and now another 30 min wait all so I can get a hospital approved covid test in preparation for my surgery next week.

I had scheduled it this early so I could get to a work meeting on time. It's one quick swab, right? 

Patience is a struggle and I'm frustrated that what seems like such a simple task is buried in red tape and ridiculousness.  

The more I check my watch, the more  frustrated I get. My to-do list is ticking through my head and my agitation is rising. 

And then the soft sounds of the lullaby melody come over the speaker and remind me that somewhere in this building a new baby was just born.  

It brings a smile to my face as I think of the joy and promise a new life bring.  

I let the simple sounds soothe my impatient soul and I offer a prayer for that new soul, that family.  

I look around the waiting room and see an elderly Amish couple, the woman carefully pulling thread through her embroidery hoop, the tension with her needle mirroring the concern on her face as her husband sits huddled under a blanket next to her.

I see another man in a business suit also anxiously checking his watch every few minutes. 

A woman sits alone and stares blankly at the wall, no emotion evident on her face.  She looks shell-shocked and I can't help but wonder what new lump, symptom or ailment brought her here to await the next test.  

I note the weariness on the face of the nurse coming out for each patient.  And I squirm a bit that I could have been so self-absorbed. 

Thank you, Lord, for reminding me it's not just about me.  

As Dieter F Uchtdorf cautioned us, "Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!

Impatience, on the other hand, is a symptom of selfishness. It is a trait of the self-absorbed. It arises from the all-too-prevalent condition called “center of the universe” syndrome, which leads people to believe that the world revolves around them and that all others are just supporting cast in the grand theater of mortality in which only they have the starring role."

I often say I struggle with patience.  But I would say sometimes I hold a bit too tightly to impatience.  And naming it means I am aware and can better work at it.  

I can be more Christ-like in my waiting. 

I can put down my phone and look around while I wait and see who could use a little love.  

And that's the first step!