Patience

A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains.

-Dutch Proverb

We are, quite literally, an instantaneous society.  Everything must happen RIGHT NOW:  Instant coffee, instant soup in the microwave, instant takeout at the drive-through, instant communication on the cell phone, through texting, or on the Internet. The prevailing attitude is: I don’t have time to wait, I should not have to wait, and I will not tolerate having to wait.   

I had an appointment today with my oncologist – an every-six-month checkup from my cancer surgery in 2007.  My doctor is a lovely, caring, very knowledgeable person who, as a physician, has one amazing trait:  she takes time with her patients – however much time she feels is needed.  Consequently, she is often running late.  When I checked in today, the receptionist informed me [without looking directly at me--a portent of things to come!] that the doctor was running an hour and fifteen minutes late.  I laughed and said, “I don’t doubt that!”  I returned to my seat and grabbed a handful of magazines.

A short time later, an older woman with a pale, swollen face and a very bad wig [an obvious cancer patient] walked to the registration desk.  She was given the same message that I received – a long wait to see the doctor.  The lady was incensed.  She marched over to two younger relatives [her transportation, apparently], and in a very loud voice, began to berate the oncologist, the facility, MCV, all doctors, all nurses – anyone, it seemed, who had the audacity to make her wait.  One of the younger women tried to reason with her – to no avail.  The other one buried her head in a magazine.  This made her relative (Aunt? Grandma?) even angrier, and she demanded, “Did you hear what I said?”  Without taking her eyes from the magazine, the young woman quietly responded, “I and every other person in this waiting room heard you.”  The retort was fast and furious, not to mention at the top of her lungs:  “Good!  I want everyone to hear me.  This office needs to realize that they cannot treat me like this! This is absolutely absurd!”

Patience has never been my strong suit, and I have had my moments of being a Class-A jerk.  Today, however, my eyes were opened to the ones who have to put up with the impatient jerks of the world.  My heart went out to those two girls who obviously had endured this behavior before.  On the other hand, it was clear from this woman’s physical appearance that her cancer was not responding well to treatment.  It is difficult to know what level of fear and pain caused the woman to act as she did, but the depth of the girls’ patience with their irate older relative was an amazing thing to see. 

In your patience, possess ye your soul.

Luke 21:19 [KJV]