Waiting

There we were in the doctor’s office, my kids and I, waiting for our turn. We had been sitting there for three hours, and there were still three patients ahead of us. It’s always like this when we have a doctor’s appointment. The waiting takes too long. But it’s difficult to find a family doctor here in Toronto, so we hardly have any option. Besides, our Filipino doctor really takes time to explain everything (that is why each consultation takes so long) and I’d rather have her than go through a quick 10-minute visit with another doctor.

Patience is certainly not one of my virtues. And I hate it when I have no control over circumstances. But every day, I am placed in situations where I have to wait – for the bus or train to come, for the traffic light to change, for a document to arrive, for the manager to approve some papers, for dinner to be cooked.

There have also been many occasions in my life when I had to wait for months or years for something I really wanted or hoped for. I had to wait one year for my first job after college, 22 years to have my first boyfriend, 3 years (and 18 hours in labour) to have my first child, five months for our application to Canada to be approved, four years to get our citizenship.

The waiting sometimes makes me anxious, because not knowing “when” forces you to put your hope on something that is unsure. But I’ve realized that I cannot always make things happen at my own time. Prayers are answered; dreams are fulfilled – at their appointed time, when God wills them to happen. So, even now, I am still waiting for some of my petitions to be heard.

Waiting to be called in the doctor’s clinic, I know I will get good service when my turn comes. In the same way, I know that God, in His own good time, will grant my request in the way that He knows best.

In the meantime, I shall patiently wait.

Good is the Lord to one who waits for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good to hope in silence for the saving help of the Lord. (Lamentations 3:25-26)