For better or for worse

27 January 2022

I am not a patient person.  As much as I enjoy a routine, I occasionally find tedium nerve-racking.  Waiting for someone to heal, especially when that someone seems to be in no hurry to do so, annoys me.  Of course, this is the completely wrong mindset to have when trying to support someone who has a collection of health issues with few answers as to why.  Even though I knew this before reading “Gut feelings – disorders of gut-brain interaction and the patient-doctor relationship:  A guide for patients and doctors,” it certainly hit home.  (I forgot to mention this book in my latest reading list because I’ve lent it to a certain someone in hopes that it might trigger some self-assessment.  It’s still waiting for him to open it.)

Even dealing with something as “simple” as cataract surgery has extended into a multi-week prolonged vision clearing journey.  Apparently, not everyone has clear vision right away.  It can take weeks.  I know I can’t will or pray issues away for anyone, but I wish the universe would cut this guy a break.  To be honest, I realize that I’m wishing the universe would cut me a break.  It did (a little), by leading me to (yes, another book!) that I’m glad I chose to read last week.  “Between heaven and mirth:  Why joy, humor, and laughter are at the heart of the spiritual life” by my favorite Jesuit, James Martin.  It kept me chuckling while waiting as my husband when through yet another procedure. 

Finding humor in my impatience invites the universe to cut me a break.  Humor can connect you to God.  When I’ve opened myself to how ridiculous I am sometimes, I’ve always been rewarded by God’s sense of humor.  How else do you explain leaving the ophthalmologist with stronger steroidal eyedrops (along with lots of encouragement) just to turn on the radio to hear “I can see for miles”?