Waiting is Hard

 by Judy Richardson 

November 5, 2020 

Waiting is one of the hardest things we have to do. As children we wait to grow up. When we go to school we stand in long lines for the water fountain, for the slide, to get on the school bus. 

I always hoped that waiting would get easier because I am older, but I find that I cherish my time and am even more impatient with little things that never used to bother me. I sometimes have to wait for my husband to finish getting ready or to finish fixing my breakfast (am I spoiled?) 

Early in-person voters had to wait in line for up to an hour and a half on Tuesday. They were patient and quiet and respectful of this democratic process. 1417 people cast their votes, 2 were curbside voters and the rest voted normally. There was not one complaint about wait times, and we even had to ask them how long they had to wait. They did not volunteer the information. 

This week I had to wait for return calls to find out how many yards we needed to rake on Saturday and it was hard to wait for replies. 

My writing group had to wait for my Zoom invitation because I didn’t get it out until a few hours before we met. 

We wait for this Pandemic to be over. Can we continue to be patient and respectful of the health of others? 

Instant gratification is wonderful! Who doesn’t want to get exactly what they want when they want it? When we are frustrated with waiting for the end of a Pandemic we can easily think that we no longer need to be careful. We are like the mouse, peeking its head around a corner to timidly move to the next room. After all, we haven’t gotten it yet. Well, maybe that is because we have been careful. 

It is no time to be impatient and reckless. We especially have to wait patiently for certification of the vote count to be complete so we can start coping with the results. Impatience will not get the electoral college to meet any earlier or make January 20 get here any faster. 

Unfortunately, I am not any better at waiting than when I was young so I take my airbuds and my phone whenever I have to spend any time waiting. However, I have noticed that waiting rooms are no longer filled and patients are not encouraged to come early. Today I got in within 5 minutes of my arrival. This is one of the better consequences of the Pandemic as well as telemedicine appointments. 

We also, like our Christian ancestors, wait for Christ to come again. We are patiently waiting and wondering if He will come during our lifetime. Right now, for me, this is the easiest type of waiting. God is in control and I am glad to leave this one in His hands.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash